


We keep this love in a photograph.

by sometimesihavecurls



Category: Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Bad Boy Harry, Bed Sex, Bottom Louis, Drunk Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Famous Harry, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Innocent Louis, Insecure Louis, Love/Hate, M/M, Model Harry, Photographer Louis, Photography, Sexual Tension, Smut, Top Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-15
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-02-21 06:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2458949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sometimesihavecurls/pseuds/sometimesihavecurls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When 23-year-old Louis finally finds a job as a photographer for the new Burberry charity fashion campaign after the roughest year of his life, he feels like his life has a meaning again.<br/>When America's sweetheart Harry Styles understands that he needs to clear his image after scandalous pictures involving drugs, male strippers and radio host Nick Grimshaw, he will do anything to start from scratch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning.

“Shit! Where the hell is it? Shit!”, Louis says as he trips over one of his little brother Ernest's rattles. He stumbles through the hallway to the kitchen, where his family is having breakfast.  
“Louis! Watch your mouth!” his mom scolds him, covering his sister Daisy's ears.  
“Shit, shit, shit!” the little girl repeats, giggling like it's the funniest word she's ever heard.  
“I'm sorry” he mumbles while shoving a whole bagel in his mouth. “Fuck! I'm late!” he cusses when he sees the time in the big clock hanging on the wall right above a picture of himself with his sister Lottie sleeping together when she was just a baby and Louis was 7.  
The little girl from the picture, who's not a little girl anymore, craks up with his brother's scene. Then Louis starts walking in circles around himself and she doesn't even need him no say a word.  
“It's on the living-room table, right where you left it yesterday”, she informs him.  
He winks at her and runs towards where she told him. There it is, his beloved camera. His biggest economic investment right after his no longer boyfriend Stan, who happens to be the reason he is living with his parents again after emancipating 5 years ago, when he was barely 18.  
He gets lost in his own thoughts and memories for a moment. He never saw it coming, really. No one did. Everything was perfect. They met in highschool, Stan was the captain of the football team and Louis was in charge of taking the pictures for the yearbook. They connected instantly, and when highschool was over they moved in together. Louis attended to college to study Photography and Stan signed up with the Doncaster Rovers, so they had a pretty nice and comfortable life. Everything was good, the coexistence was good, the relationship was good, the sex was really good. But one morning Louis came home sooner than expected since his Perspectives class had been cancelled, to find Stan on his hands and knees, and another boy thrusting hard into him. Then Louis understood that nothing was good at all. He could have gone to the press and tell them, tell them about one of the most expensive football players of the UK having sex with a guy (for the media, Louis was just a friend). But he didn't, cause Louis is not that kind of person. He asked for an explanation tho, and all he got was “you were distant, Louis, and I had to go and find what you wouldn't give me somewhere else. Now you need to leave. I guess it's over. I'm sorry. I wish you the best.”  
And there he was. Twenty-three years old, desperately seeking for a job now that he had finished studying, living with his 8 people family and with absolutely no idea of what to do with his life.  
“Lou!” Lottie gave him a not so soft pat in his shoulder, making him come back again to his reality. “Jesus, are you deaf? You're gonna miss the bus!”  
Louis frowned. “Oh...” it took him a few minutes to remember that he was supposed to go to a work interview that morning. “Oh! Fucking hell!”, he quickly grabbed his stuff and rushed through the front door.  
“For God's sake, Louis!” his mom scolded him again from the kitchen.  
“Fucking hell, fucking hell, fucking hell!” now it was Phoebe, Daisy's twin, the one repeating her brother's words.

 

“This has to end” Harry said as he let himself fall on his back on the matress, ragged breath, sweaty skin and messy hair.  
“Why so?” the man lying next to him asked, finishing himself off as it looked like Harry wasn't interested on doing him the favour.  
“You fucked me up, Nick” he told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
“Sure as hell I did” he responded with a satisfied smile.  
“Shut the fuck up, mate, I'm serious”, the curly boy protested as he got up from the bed completely naked. He reached for his jacket that was lying on the floor and took his little flask full of vodka. He opened it absent mindly and drank half of it in one shot.  
“Mate? Since when I'm your mate? I was your daddy twenty minutes ago”, the man called Nick said, looking hurt and something else, as he covered himself and the mess of cum he had made with the silk blanket.  
“Twenty minutes ago I had my dick in your mouth, and now I don't, and I just remembered you're destroying my career with that sweet ass of yours. I'm so, so mad at you” Harry said as he put on some boxers on and a cigarette between his lips, lighting it with a match.  
“Oh, baby is mad?” Nick faked a pout. “But why? Just because we were having fun?”  
“Having fun?!”, Harry almost screamed, “there were 16 naked guys in that room, Nick, and a lot, a fucking lot of cocaine. Not that I didn't have fun, you know I did, but now those pictures are everywhere just because you were too busy with that German guy's dick to pay security for some fucking privacy. My grandma saw those pictures, Grimshaw. My. Fucking. Granny.”  
“You're overreacting”, the radio host assured him. “People will forget about it in a few days, you know everybody loves you. Plus, since when do you care?”  
Harry let out a long sigh. “I care since my agent told me that she would dump me if I don't do that charity Burberry campaign...”  
“No fucking way”, Nick interrupted him, “seriously? But you only model for the big names!”  
“The big names, as you call them, don't want me anymore. You need me to tell you why?” he gave him a cold look.  
Nick just shook his head. He got up from the bed and approached Harry, who gave the cigarette a long drag and blew the smoke in Nick's face. “That was rude.”  
“Was it? You think I'm rude? I'm warning you, don't make me be rude. You've seen nothing.”  
“So this is it? You're breaking up with me?” Nick didn't sound hurt, but something pretty close to an upset child.  
“Breaking up? Aren't you supposed to date someone to break up with them?” Harry asked, locking his eyes with Nick's.  
“Fuck you, Styles”, Nick reached for his clothes and dressed up. “I fucking knew this was gonna happen, it's my fault for messing around with a fucking child.”  
“How old are you? 40? Is this tantrum part of the typical crisis or...?”  
“Shit, you're mean”, Nick said. Now he was hurt. Well, his pride.  
“I'm not, I'm America's sweetheart”, he showed his best smile, left dimple always present.  
“You're America's shit”, Nick headed towards the hotel room door.  
“Close the door when you exit, honey”, Harry said as he closed his eyes, enjoying the last drags of his cigarette.

_____________________

 

“So you don't have any experience in this sector?” the suited man behind a huge desk asked Louis, who felt so tiny sitting on a chair in front of him.  
“In any sector, really”, he swallowed through the lump on his throat. “I only worked when I did my practices after college, but I didn't get paid for it so I never considered it a job.”  
“Hmh”, was the man's answer, and Louis felt even smaller. He left the boy's CV on the table and intertwined his fingers on top of his huge belly. “You know why I'm doing this, Mr. Tomlinson, don't you?”  
Louis lowered his head a bit, like he was ashamed, and nodded. “My Perspectives teacher is your brother-in-law. He asked you to give me a chance since it's been really hard for me to find a job since I finished college.”  
“Exactly”, the man nodded. “So tell me, why should I pick you for this? Why should I risk one of the biggest campaigns I've ever created? What makes you special, Mr. Tomlinson?”  
“Er-yes, I... uh... I'm businesslike. I take things very seriously, I'm a perfectionist. I'm ambitious, too, and I think I have what it takes to do this campaign. I... uh-shit. I'm not gonna lie to you, sir, I need the money. I just went through some awful shit and I'm hoping I can start again. I... I just need the opportunity to show my value.”  
It took the man what it felt like ages for Louis to make a decission.  
“Okay, you're in. But just because I don't wanna have to deal with my brother-in-law in Thanksgiving because I didn't give you the job.”  
Even though the man's words weren't exactly nice, Louis' smile lighted up his face. “Thank you so much, sir. You're not gonna regret it, this I can promise you. When do I start?”  
“Well, you know this campaign is kind of special. We're supporting the United Nations with their fight for human rights. We have some of the best designers on our side, so it can be the biggest fashion campaign of the year. Sounds big, but it's even bigger, Mr. Tomlinson. We're taking pictures of some of our best models in different places of the world, inspiring every clothing line on each place. You don't have any trouble with traveling, right?”  
Louis opened his mouth to answer, but his new boss didn't even let him.  
“So”, he continued, taking an iPad in his chubby hands, “I'm giving you... Brazil, Italy and... The Caribbean. Your plane to Brazil leaves tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.”  
Louis found himself speechless. Tomorrow? He wasn't even sure was gonna get the job and now he has to fly to Brazil to be part of the biggest fashion campaign of the year. He let out a soft “wow” that sounded more like a whisper, and his boss rolled his eyes.  
“You need to start acting professional, Mr. Tomlinson. You need to show your model, whoever it is, that you are in charge. They tend to be a bit... arrogant.”

 

“Get the fuck out, Gemma, I'm begging you” Harry murmured against his pillow, his naked ass exposed to the daylight coming through the windows.  
“Get dressed, for God's sake” the bleach blonde girl scolded Harry, throwing him a pair of black skinny jeans and a black semi-transparent button up.  
“I have a headache, okay? I'm not feeling very good, I had a rough morning. I think I'm staying in bed-” he was interrupted by his sister's hand slapping his right butt cheek. “Ow!” he shranked into himself from the sting. “Gemma!”  
“Yep, that's my name. Beautiful, isn't it? Now get up, you're catching a plane tomorrow morning and you're gonna help me with your suitcase”  
“I'm sorry?” Harry turned over, now facing his sister lifting an eyebrow.  
Gemma quickly covered her eyes. “Jesus, cover yourself, you're gonna traumatize me for the rest of my life, oh, my innocent eyes”, she exaggerated.  
Harry let out an honest laugh, almost childish. “I'm sorry, oh, my poor sister” he said while putting on some boxers. “But can you repeat that? What did you say about a plane tomorrow?” he got up from the bed and stretched out like a lazy cat.  
“You're headed to Brazil tomorrow, for the Burberry photoshoot. Do I have to tell you everything, really?”  
“Well, that's what I pay you for”, he answered with a knowing smile.  
She snapped her fingers and pointed at him.  
“Right.”  
Harry got dressed and stared at his sister for a few seconds, enough time for her to understand what he was saying without words.  
“She's better. She has all of her hopes on this project, tho. Robin is taking care of her now and well, she has to take pills every once in a while to control her nerves but she's doing fine. Trust me.”  
“Do you-do you think she'll ever forgive me?” Harry spoke to find his voice shaky, sounding like a little kid.  
“Come on, Haz, mom loves you more than anything. She would forgive you even if you mudered me”, she joked, getting closer to her brother and strocking his hair with her fingers, trying to fix that mess of chocolate brown curls.  
Harry softened to his big sister's touch and hid his face in the crook of her neck, lowering himself a bit.  
“I'm sorry... I'm such-”  
“A fucking asshole. We know. But hey, we love you either way. You're a lucky boy.” Harry could feel a smile in her voice.  
“Yes, I am. I'm sorry mom got so upset. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I promise it won't happen again. I don't want that to happen again. I don't wanna see her sad...”  
“Hey, Harry” she held his face in her hands. “Listen, I'm your sister, but I'm also your agent. We're gonna get through this, okay? Everybody has their ups and downs, and well, I think you've reached the bottom” her brother rolled his eyes, “but we can go back to the surface again. You're gonna catch that plane tomorrow, obey to everything the photographer tells you, show the world that cute little dimple of yours and make us feel proud. And then you can go back to clubs full of naked guys, you can also invite me if you feel like doing it, but without drugs or I'll rip your balls off. No Nick Grimshaw, either. Am I clear?”  
“Yes, sir”, he answered with a huge smile on his face.  
Harry wasn't a bad guy. He was just a rich 20 year old boy with unhealthy habits, too far from his family, with a bank account completely loaded and not a very good taste in choosing his company.  
“Okay” she gave him a big kiss on the cheek and headed back to his suitcase. “Did you know you'll be working with a newbie?” she said, playful.  
“Oh, fuck you. Really?” Harry protested.  
“Yup. Just got out of Uni. Tom... Tomlinson? Yeah, Tomlinson. I can't remember his name, but it sounded french. He's british, though.”  
Harry put a cigarette between his lips and lighted it with a match.  
“Fuck. This sucks. I'm just doing this for you and mom, you know? I don't give a shit about what people think about me. But you could've made it easier for me. I don't know, sign up with a professional, maybe?”  
Gemma dropped a black leather jacket on the floor.  
“Excuse me? Are you seriously giving me that shit right now? You should be thankful that I found something for you, you know? You're like the most hated guy in America right now. You fooled the whole world with that innocent boy attitude and now they know it. Just because I forgive you, doesn't mean the world has to. And if they don't, then you won't work, and if you don't work you won't have money to pay me, and I know you're loaded, but I'm not and I need my salary.”  
Harry took a few drags of his cigarette before he answered. “I can upgrade you or something. Or pay you more. Are you good? Do you need more money?”  
“No, Harry, I don't need more money. I need you to take something seriously for once in your life. It won't hurt, I promise. Just try to settle down a bit, okay? At least until the campaign is over. Please.”  
“Okay, okay...” Harry didn't need his sister to ask her again. “But if the guy is a mess, I'm not gonna put up with his shit.”


	2. Brazil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna have a fangirl attack right now if you don't mind: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE KUDOS AND THE HITS AND THE BOOKMARKS AND EVERYTHING I PROMISE IT WILL BE MY PRIORITY NOT TO DISAPPOINT YOU I ALREADY LOVE YOU. Okay that's it for now, thank you :)

“Promise you'll bring us something, a present. Or at least me, I don't care about the others”, Lottie joked as she gave her brother Louis a big hug. He let out a soft laugh, too scared and nervous to follow the joke.  
“Hey, it's just a plane!” she laughed at his brother's expression. Louis nodded, more to himself than to his sister.  
“Yeah, yeah, just a plane. Plane crashes are not very common, are they? It's just that when they happen, you have no chance to stay alive” he said while loosening the neck of his pale blue shirt.  
“Nothing's gonna happen, okay? Stop thinking that. Everything's gonna be okay. Trust me” his sister comforted him.  
“You're right” he let out a long sigh. “Thank you for coming to say goodbye, but you shouldn't be skipping school”, he said, and the blonde girl rolled her eyes. “Tell mom and the kids that I love them and that I'm gonna miss them. Oh, and Dan too. If he makes mom cry just once, you call me immediately and I come and kill him, alright?”  
“Alright”, his sister agreed fondly. “Have a safe flight!” she kissed him goodbye and Louis headed to the enormous gate in the Heathrow airport, about to take a plane to fly to Brazil. He still couldn't believe it.  
When he found his seat, guided by a lovely air hostess whose name, he read on the silver badge pinned in her jacket, was Eleanor, he took his crappy tablet out of his backpack and went through his mail. Nothing new. The plane started moving, sign that they were flying. He was thinking about sending an email to Stan, to tell him about how things were starting to feel okay again, because maybe he still cared and maybe he wanted to know, but he got interrupted by the air hostess he met before.  
“I'm so sorry, but no digital devices are allowed in this plane”, she said with a kind smile.  
“Oh, yes, sorry”, he said putting it back in his backpack.  
“I presume that's a good camera?” the girl said.  
“Sorry?” Louis looked at her, a bit confused. She had long brown hair, a bit lighter on the tips, probably from some failed attempt of ombré hair. Her eyes were also brown and warm, and she had perfect white teeth. Classic, Louis thought.  
The girl pointed at a smaller bag resting on Louis' lap, with the word Canon printed all over it in white.  
“Oh, this”, he smiled as he held it in his hands, proud. “Yes, I guess it is.”  
“Are you a photographer, then?” she asked, curious.  
“Yes. Yes, I am”, he answered, and those simple words sounded like music for his ears. “I'm working for Burberry's next campaign.”  
“Oh my gosh!”, she exclaimed, maybe a bit too loud. “I love Burberry. Wanna hear something funny? I've always wanted to be a model. But the closest to it I've ever been was when I worked an entire summer in an Abercrombie shop. I know, it's pathetic. But anyways, this job is not that bad. Oh, God, I'm doing it again. I'm sorry if I annoyed you, sir. Sometimes I don't know when to stop talking”, she looked deeply worried.  
Louis just laughed it off. “It's okay, love, you're not bothering me.”  
“Well, I'm glad”, she smiled, “I gotta go back to work, but I hope you enjoy your flight...”  
“Louis” he said, politely.  
“Louis”, she nodded, and went back to her place in the plane entrance.  
Louis felt sad when the girl left, not because of the lack of company, but because she kept him off of his thoughts about how plane crashes aren't very common, but when they happen, you have no chance to stay alive.

Louis slept the whole flight. He woke up with Eleanor's voice calling him, and her hands shaking his shoulder.  
“Hey, Mr. Louis, wake up! Welcome to Brazil!”  
When he got out of the plane, a strong heat hit him, and he couldn't help but think, there's no place like Doncaster.  
It took him a few seconds to find the person who was supposed to take him to the hotel, but a strong looking man with a huge sign that said “TOMLINSON” caught his eye.  
“Hi”, he said when he approached him. “My name is Louis. Tomlinson.”  
The man said nothing, just made a gesture for Louis to follow him and led him to a taxi.  
He sighed with relief when he saw his boss in the hotel lobby.  
“Ah, Tomlinson, finally” the fat man said. “I have to go, gotta be in Mexico in two hours, but your model is in the VIP room, go and introduce yourself, first photo session tomorrow 9:00 AM.”  
And with that, he left. Louis was starting to get used to never being able to give the man a proper answer.  
A cheerful bellboy with blonde hair and irish accent grabbed his bags and offered to take them to Louis' room for him, which he accepted with a thankful smile.  
When he opened the VIP room door, the boy he supposed was going to be his model almost fell, as he might've been leaning against the door.  
“Oops”, came from the boy's mouth, as he tried to recover the stability.  
"Hi," Louis said. "My name is..."  
“Ugh, finally”, Harry interrupted him, “bring me a coffee, better if it's with a bit of whiskey in it. No, forget that. Bring me just the whiskey.”  
Louis felt his heart skip a beat. He knew that guy. God knows he knew him. He remembered those brown curls very well. The first and last time he saw them, they were all sweaty, sticking to his neck and forehead, from fucking Stan.  
He had to work with the man who destroyed his future with the love of his life.  
This had to be some kind of sick joke. Maybe a bad dream. Maybe he was still sleeping on the plane.  
“What, are you deaf? Move your ass and bring me what I ordered”, Harry said. “Come on, man, I'm asking you nicely.”  
“I'm sorry, who are you?” Louis managed to ask.  
Harry remained silent for a few seconds, to finally let out a short laugh.  
“Okay, I don't really get your humour but I guess I appreciate your effort.”  
“No, I'm... I'm serious. What's your name?” Louis tried again.  
“What the fuck...”, Harry got up from the couch. “I'm Harry Styles. Who the hell are you?”  
So he didn't recognize him...  
“I'm, uh... I'm Louis Tomlinson”, Louis was trying so hard not to cry in front of the curly boy. Why him?  
“Tomlinson? So you are my photographer? Fuck, I'm gonna kill Gemma...”  
Louis tried to make himself react, to stop being just standing there, speechless, but he failed.  
“Well, anyways. Just give me the whiskey and we can start again, okay? I'll forget that you're a weirdo who probably still lives with his parents.”  
“Excuse me?” Louis reacted.  
“You heard me. I'm gonna need some alcohol to get through this, no one can take this sober.”  
“I'm not your servant. I'm here to do my job, which is taking pictures of you, sober, wether you like it or not. So if you excuse me, I just came here to introduce myself, now I'm gonna go to my room. See you tomorrow,” Louis said, and he left the room, feeling something he identified as bravery.  
When he got to his room, however, he cried himself to sleep.

 

________________________

 

Louis' alarm went off at 7:00am and for a moment, he felt good.  
He soon recognized the bed he was in, he was in his hotel room, in Brazil, to do his job as best as he could.

Then he remembered. Life had a sense of humour that Louis couldn't really understand. He felt sick. He felt like calling home and saying that the project got cancelled or that they found a better photographer and that he was taking the first flight home, right where he belonged.  
He took his phone and dialed his best friend's number.  
“Hey there mate”, Zayn greeted him at the second tone. “What's up?”  
“Would it be coward if I went back home like... right now?” he asked straight forward.  
“Uh... I don't know. Why do you wanna come back? Is anything wrong?” the other boy asked, his voice deep but soft.  
“You know... you know when I found Stan... you know...” Louis started rambling.  
“Yeah buddy, I know. So what is it? You've been overthinking about it lately?” Zayn asked, patient.  
“The guy I found him with. He-he's here, Zayn, he's my model, I have to work with him for God knows how long”, Louis sounded desperate, and he felt like cryng again.  
“Shit... Hey, mate, it's alright, okay? You're good, you're just a bit stressed...”  
“No,” Louis interrupted him, shaking. “No, I'm not good Zayn this fucking sucks why did I say yes to the job I don't understand I just wanna fucking know why.” Now he was crying.  
“Please, Lou, don't cry...” Zayn was sad to hear his friend so upset. “Ah, shit, do you want me to come? I can book a cheap flight and be there tomorrow.”  
“No, no... no,” Louis was literally sobbing, “you can't, you have to stay and focus on your music, you can't waste your time here.”  
“I'll do whatever you want me to do, I'm here for you, okay?”  
“I know, Z...”  
“And about the guy... I don't know, man. Maybe you should try and separate your personal life from your professional life, don't you think? Just do your thing like the pro that you are. But remember: it was Stan who cheated. It was Stan who hurt you. Not this guy, Stan probably used him too. But still, when it's all over you can go to him and bitch-slap him in the face if it makes you feel better, okay? I'll be there recording it with my phone.”  
Louis laughed at that, which was bit weird as his face was a sea of tears.  
“Yeah, I'll try. I'll keep you updated, tho. You won't get rid of me that easily.”  
“I would never want to,” his friend said with a smile that Louis couldn't see, but could feel. “You're so brave, Lou... after everything that happened you picked up your own pieces and licked your own wounds and there you are. On the surface again. Just trust yourself a bit more. Don't be so insecure.”  
“Okay, stop right there or I'll start crying again”  
“Oh, please, not again...” Zayn joked, and that made Louis laugh. “I gotta go now, got some stuff to do at the studio. I'll talk to you later, yeah?”  
“Alright, yeah.”  
Louis hang up the phone and stood there a couple of minutes, just thinking about what Zayn had told him.  
He checked the time (it was 7:30am now) and decided it was time for a shower. He headed straight to the bathroom, refusing to look at himself in any mirror, cause he knew his face would be all red cheeks and puffy eyes from crying, and he didn't want that version of him to be the first thing he saw that morning.

 

At 8:00am he was fresh and clean and nicely dressed, camera in hand, on his way to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast. He was wearing light camel trousers that showed his ankles and a baby blue jumper, sleeves a bit rolled up.  
It became hard to breathe when he saw the boy, Harry, as he told him the night before, already sitting at one of the tables. Louis wasn't sure he had woken up early or just came back from some kind of party, cause he was wearing sunglasses and his hair was an absolute mess. Louis felt a sting on his fingers, as if he needed to run them through those curls to ease them a bit. He shook his head, trying to kick that thought out of his brain.  
“Good morning” he said when he approached him, maybe too loud for Harry, who flinched on his seat and put a hand to his head as he had just been shot.  
“Oh, Lord, shut the fuck up”, he protested while he stirred his dark coffee with a silver spoon.  
“Rough night?” Louis asked as he took a seat in front of Harry.  
“What are you doing?” the curly boy lifted his head to look at him behind his dark glasses.  
Louis was about to answer, but he got interrupted by a waitress.  
“What would you like to have for breakfast, sir?” she asked with a warm smile.  
“He won't have nothing, he's leaving, aren't you, Tomlinson?” Harry answered for him, daring.  
Louis took a deep and silent breath before speaking again, cause maybe he would bitch-slap Harry sooner than expected.  
“Actually I would like a croissant, and I was wondering, do you have Yorkshire tea, by any chance?” he asked the waitress.  
“We do, I'll bring it all to you in a minute,” she said, and went back to the kitchen.  
Louis cleared his throat.  
“So I was hoping we could maybe start from scratch. I have the feeling that yesterday we didn't have the best first impression of each other and I would like to change that. That being said, it's nice to meet you, I'm Louis,” Louis introduced himself again, offering Harry his hand.  
After a few long seconds and before Louis dropped it, Harry gave him a short handshake.  
“Harry. Styles,” he mumbled.  
“So, are you ready for today's photoshoot?” Loius asked as the waitress served him his breakfast, “thank you”, he whispered politely.  
“Do I look ready?” Harry answered with another question.  
Louis wasn't sure about which was the right answer.  
“In case you haven't noticed, which would make you kind of oblivious, I have the worst hangover ever. So no, I'm not ready.”  
“Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully it won't take long and you'll be able to come back and sleep in the afternoon,” Louis said, and he burnt his tongue when he took a sip of his tea.  
Harry let out an honest laugh, and Louis felt his cheeks go red.  
“It's not funny,” he protested, tongue totally numb.  
“Yes, yes it is,” Harry faked wipeing a tear and stole a bite from Louis' croissant.  
He has nice lips, Louis thought. In a very professional way, obviously.  
He realized he was staring at Harry when the boy's lips curved into a sufficient smile.  
“Ah... it's almost time. The car is probably waiting for us, I'm gonna go and tell them that we're ready” Louis said as he quickly stood up and wiped his mouth with a napkin.  
As he walked past by Harry, the curly boy didn't even bother on dissimulating his stare at Louis' butt.


	3. Strawberries taste how lips do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for everything and next chapter will be up on Saturday!

At 20:00 pm that day, Louis decided he liked Harry. It was something very hard for him to admit, cause Harry represented a very bad moment in his life, but he couldn't help it.  
Not only was he hot, he was also very funny.  
They had been working for hours now, and Harry acted so professional it really surprised Louis. He wasn't expecting any collaboration from him, but he actually didn't complain once. The spoiled boy he met at the hotel, stayed there that day.  
“Okay, okay, hear this one. Knock knock,” Harry said when he was sitting on his chair, getting his hair and make up fixed by his stylist, Lou Teasdale.  
Louis was laughing so hard, maybe too hard, cause they were such bad jokes, but there was just something about Harry that made them sound hilarious.  
“Who's there?” Louis asked.  
“Boo.”  
“Boo who?”  
“Gosh, don't cry, it's just a knock knock joke!”  
It took him a few seconds to get it, but when that happened, he was cracking up again.  
“Am I stupid or are those jokes not funny at all?” Lou said as she covered a few red spots on Harry's almost perfect skin.  
“Of course they're funny, Louis is laughing. Tell her, Louis,” Harry said.  
Louis felt a bit embarassed, cause maybe they weren't that funny.  
“I just really like jokes,” he said, awkwardly.  
“Then you came to the right place,” the tattooed woman said, “Harry never knows when to stop when it comes to his terrible, I mean, hilarious jokes.”  
“Wanna know who's not funny? You,” Harry responded, sticking his tongue out at her.  
“Put that tongue back to it's place or I'll punish you without dessert tonight,” she scolded him.  
Louis let out a soft laugh, and Harry looked at him.  
“She takes the expression “you're like a son to me” to a whole different level, as you can see,” Harry explained.  
It was fascinating to Louis how Harry's personality changed when he was with people who he cared about.  
“Done,” Lou said, putting her brush down, “you're still ugly, but I did everything within my power.”  
“I'm not ugly! I'm pretty. Louis,” he suddenly turned to the older boy,”tell her, am I pretty?”  
All Louis could think in that moment was “fuck, fuck, you're very pretty, fuck, fuck.”  
“Beauty is a very relative concept,” he finally said.  
Harry frowned, “what is that supposed to mean?”  
“It means that you're ugly but he's too nice to tell you. Sadly for you, I'm not,” she gave him a big kiss on the cheek and left, as a little girl's cry was heard in the trailer.  
Harry looked at Louis and it felt like he was about to ask him if he really thought he was ugly, but he didn't.  
Louis felt so lucky. He was such a bad liar.

 

 

“No, not like that, do it as I told you earlier. Yes, perfect,” Louis indicated Harry. He was wearing his third outfit that day, black skinny jeans and a sleeveless plaid red and blue shirt, his hair put back with a headband. He looked amazing.  
He stricked a pose as Louis told him. They were in an empty highway right next to the beach, an enormous Harley-Davidson for Harry to interact with.  
Now he had his hands on his hips and one foot supporting the motorbike, as he stared at the sea.  
Louis had been mumbling things the whole time, like “so good” or “amazing, just amazing,” and Harry realized that he actually liked it.  
It had been such an effort for him at the beginning to be nice and all with the new guy, cause he just wanted to go back to his normal life in hotel rooms, with his minibar full of alcohol and why not, maybe he would give Nick a call.  
But after a few hours he started to feel comfortable, maybe because the boy didn't take him too seriously, or maybe because he did. Harry felt uneasy whenever Louis left for a new memory card or for a new battery, cause Louis laughed at his jokes and he said nice things about him, and Harry could feel he said them cause he actually believed they were true, not just to get Harry to like him. Louis was natural. He was real. And Harry was starting to get sick of the fake.  
“Oh, that last one looks so good, stay like that please I'm gonna take a few more.”  
Harry did as he was told. He was more than used to it. After a few shots, Louis approached him.  
“Look,” he showed him the little screen of the camera, “I love this one, you look really good. Oh, and check this one, I don't really know how I did this but the color of your eyes just pops, it's so bright, with the sun and all, really, really nice.”  
Louis looked so enthusiastic Harry thought that was cute. He also noticed that most of the pictures Louis was showing him, were more focused on Harry than on the clothes. That was cute, too.  
“Thank you very much, Harry, I think we're done for today. You can go and have some rest at the hotel, you deserve it,” Louis said, honest. “I'm gonna stay here though, take a few shots for myself, landscape mostly. Guess I'll see you tomorrow,” he said, and waved at him awkwardly before heading towards the side of the road.  
“Wait, Louis?” Harry suddenly said.  
“Yes?” the blue-eyed boy turned around.  
“Mind if I join you? I'm not that tired now, actually,” he lied.  
Louis gave him a sweet smile.  
“Sure, come,” he said with a quick move of his head.

 

Harry followed Louis almost till they reached the end of the road. He regretted every cigarette he had smoken since he was 16, cause his lungs were crap (at least crappier than Louis'), and he was exhausted. Louis, however, looked perfectly fine.  
“Yes, that's what I wanted,” Louis said, camera on his eye already, “look at that view.”  
Harry wasn't sure if it was his unhealthy habits or the view, but he stopped breathing for a moment.  
The view in front of him was amazing. The horizon, with the clear blue sea and the clear blue sky, sun setting, all framed by loads and loads of trees that grew surrounding the beach, was something Harry was not very used to. He felt like he could cry, but he didn't let himself though.  
When he looked at Louis again, he was sitting on the bare ground, in a pretty weird posture, taking shots at the view. Harry smiled and sat next to him.  
“You take it very seriously, don't you?” he asked, and Louis flinched, as if he was so focused on what he was doing, he completely forgot that he was not alone.  
“Yeah, I just want the perfect angle. If they're good enough I can turn them into canvas prints and sell them.”  
“I want to buy one,” Harry said almost immediately.  
Louis glanced at him, and then back to the horizon.  
“But you don't know if they're good yet...” he said, shy.  
“Yeah, well. I have a fifth sense, you know,” he smiled a bit.  
“Sixth,” Louis corrected him immediately.  
“What?”  
“It's sixth sense. We all have a fifth sense. The touch, if I'm not mistaken,” he explained.  
“Jesus, you're annoying,” Harry laughed a bit, not too much, and layed on his back, still next to Louis. Louis felt the need to do the same, so he did.  
“Why?”  
“I don't like it when people correct me. It makes me feel dumb,” Harry admited.  
“Oh, you're not dumb. You've been missinformed, that's all,” he assured him.  
As Harry didn't say anything else, Louis continued.  
“There's a lot of things I know nothing about,” he said, staring at the sky above them. “Like cooking. Or cars. Or fashion trends. .I just know a lot about cameras, art and sports,” he said.  
“Do you like any sports?” Harry asked.  
“Yeah, football is really cool. Not to brag about it or anything, but I'm pretty good at it.”  
“I had a thing with a football player, like a year ago or something. He played with the Doncaster Rovers, I think,” Harry said, and Louis almost said “yes, I know.” Instead he swallowed through the lump on his throat.  
“And what happened? Why did it stay like a “thing”?” he dared to ask.  
“Well, I found out he had a boyfriend. Look, I'm a lot of things, most of them bad, but I hate people who cheat. I've seen my sister being broken-hearted by stupid guys who cheated on her, it just makes me sick. I've never had a proper relationship tho, so I don'r really know about trust and compromise and that kind of stuff, but I just feel like it's the worst thing you could do to someone. Betray them that way. Dont' you think?” he asked Louis, to find him literally sobbing.  
“Are you okay?” he asked, more than confused. Why was he crying? What did he say?  
“Yes, yes, I'm good. Ugh, sorry, I'm... I'm sensitive, I guess,” he excused himself, rubbing a hand through his face and getting up from the ground. “It's time to go back, I have to send the pictures from before to the edition guys.”  
“Oh, right...” Harry got up too. “I was planning on having a shower and a bit of food and then going out, you know, have a few drinks and stuff. Do you wanna come?”  
“Ah, I don't know...” Louis said, still sniffling, “it's not you, it's just that I don't think it would be very... professional, you know?”  
“Come on, Lou, who decides what is professional and what's not?” he said, putting his arm over his shoulders. Louis eased at the touch.  
“My boss, also known as the guy who pays me,” he said as they walked back to the trailer.  
“That's bullshit cause he'll never know. Trust me. We'll be sneaky,” he smiled like a little kid about to do something mischievous.  
Louis wasn't sure at all. He felt like he didn't know himself anymore. He was about to go out with the guy who made it all go to waste. But then he understood that Zayn was right. It wasn't Harry's fault, it was Stan's. And he didn't even know that Louis used to be Stan's boyfriend.  
“Well... okay,” Louis finally said, and Harry made a victorious gesture. “But just an hour or so, I really need to be back to send the photos.”  
“Of course, just an hour,” Harry repeated, and Louis believed him.

It was 22:00 when they got to the club. All friendly touches, friendly glances, friendly words.  
Past midnight and they were drunk, snogging on the sofa in a private booth of the VIP zone.  
"You taste like," Louis licked his own lips, "cherry. No, no, no, strawberry. Yes."  
Harry was all over Louis, one hand on his butt, the other one in the back of his neck, Louis resting on some fluffy pillows.  
"Hmh," Harry considered it, "you taste like..." he started kissing Louis' bare neck, sucking on the soft skin, making him melt. "You taste like hey can we go back to the hotel already and do this in a proper bed," he said really fast, slurry.  
Louis let out an honest laugh, hiding his face on Harry's' neck, "What's the rush? Don't you like it here?"  
"I do," Harry gave him a sloppy kiss, "but guess what, I happen to like you more, so... yeah"  
"You like me?" Louis asked, all his face turned into a huge and bright smile.  
"You seriously need me to be more explicit? Cause I can be, believe me, but we don't want security to kick us out, not violently, at least," Harry said, and Louis laughed again.  
"Okay, let's go," Louis agreed and got up from the sofa when Harry did. Everything was blurry for Louis and he almost fell when they got out of the club, hopefully Harry was there to catch him.  
"I'll carry you," Harry said, "jump on my back."  
"What? No way, I'll probably fall and break my face, I'm too pretty!" Louis whined, touching his cheeks.  
"Come on, you won't fall, I'm super strong," Harry answered, a bit unsteady.  
Louis took a deep breath and did as Harry told him. They stumbled a bit but finally Harry did as he promised: he didn't let Louis fall.  
"Oh my God, you're like Spiderman!" Louis said, too excited, "can you climb buildings, too?"  
"Only on Fridays," Harry answered, losing the balance and almost crashing against a car.  
Harry's hands were cupping Louis' butt cheeks, and he couldn't care less. Everything was wonderful that night, he felt weightless and Harry smelled so good and the alcohol made him funnier and more confident and Harry liked him and he decided it was the best night of his life. They entered clumsily in the car that was already waiting for them, and the drive to the hotel was all sloppy kisses and tickles and teasing touches and Louis was flying.  
When they got to Harry's hotel room, Harry almost jumped on Louis. They both got rid of their clothes in a extremely fast pace, considering how drunk they were.  
Harry's big hands all over Louis' body, Louis biting Harry's rosy lips.  
Louis looked at Harry with innocent eyes, yet inviting. He lifted his hand and grabbed his neck tugging the curly boy down to him. He bit again, gently, and the noise that Harry made caused him to smile into the kiss.  
Harry sat on the bed, still not letting Louis go, and the blue-eyed boy sat on his lap, straddling him. Then he felt, a familiar warmth on his dick as he saw Harry was fully hard, precome already dripping from the tip of it. Louis started leaving kisses all over Harry's chest and stomach as he leant back on the bed. His hand reached for the boy's dick easily, and he kissed him as he gripped at Harry's hardness with his hand. Harry's body gave an involuntary shiver at the touch, but Louis was so drunk, his clumsyness made the curly boy laugh.  
"We are a mess" Louis, murmured, laughing too, still letting Harry fuck his hand.  
"We suck," Harry agreed, a bit breathless as he thursted into Louis' grip.  
"Wait, I'll give you a blow job, I'm not that bad of a person," Louis proposed, and he went down to Harry's dick.  
"Don't bite," Harry warned him, staring at the ceiling, cause everything else was blurry and made him feel sick.  
"I won't, who do you think you're talking to? Don't come just yet"  
Harry was about to protest, but his mind was soon focused on Louis' mouth taking him in.  
Harry pulled a sharp breath into his lungs. He decided that those thin lips and strong tongue could be the ultimate death of him. The way they twisted and sculpted to match Harry's dick was pure perfection.  
"Fuck, Lou," Harry moaned, one hand tugging at Louis' hair and the other resting under his own head. Louis began sucking Harry's dick. Hollowing his cheeks and swallowing everything the curly boy had to offer. Louis went down on him harder and shoving everything down his throat, making Harry moan in intense pleasure, pulling on Louis' hair harder, which made Louis moan against his cock. The vibrations set a huge wave of pleasure throughout Harry's veins, and he was doing his best not to come all over Louis' pretty mouth, since he wasn't a 100% in control of himself.  
He shifted, thrusting into Louis' mouth, causing his dick to hit the back of his throat. Harry let out a powerful moan and just grabbed Louis' hair again. He lifted his head to look at him, who was now looking at him through his thick eyelashes. Then Harry noticed that Louis was touching himself.  
"Come for me, baby," Louis whispered against Harry's dick. That's all it took. Those words and the look Louis kept giving him while he touched himself made Harry come in Louis' deep mouth with a thick arch of his smooth back.  
Harry cried Louis' name, and the older boy looked up at him and swallowed in front of him. Harry was still coming down from his high when Louis stretched up and pressed a kiss to the boy's lips. Harry could taste himself against the perfect lips of Louis.  
"Okay, I'm the one who sucks, you're actually the best," Harry said, breathless, which made Louis smile victorious as he let himself fall next to Harry.  
"You can thank me tomorrow, I don't really trust myself right now," Louismumbled, already closing his eyes. Harry, however, was wide awake now.  
"Mind if we cuddle a bit? I always need cuddles after sex," he lied.  
Louis opened one eye, and then closed it again. "Sure, come," he said, opening his arms and letting Harry curl up against his chest till the both of them fell asleep.


	4. Partners in crime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I'll be able to update tomorrow, with a longer chapter. Hope you like this one! xx.

Louis woke up with a terrible headache. The light that came through the thin courtains kept him warm, as he was totally naked, and the covers were nowhere to be found.  
He turned around, not ready to get up yet, to find a boy sleeping next to him. Pale skin, worked up muscles, messy brown curls.  
"Shit..." Louis whispered to himself. He was in trouble. Sleeping with Harry wasn't exactly the best thing to do on the first day of work, when all Louis wanted was to win his boss' sympathy, and he wasn't very sure of how discreet they had been the night before.  
Anyways, what's done is done. He couldn't go back in time and fix it, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. The little cute snores Harry was making, pink lips slightly parted, made Louis' heart melt. He was so, so mad at himself for what he was doing. He felt like he would regret it at some point. But he couldn't help it. He hadn't been with anyone since Stan, didn't even pay attention to other guys, and then he met Harry and he started feeling that sweet dizziness again.  
"I can feel you staring at me. It's creepy," Harry mumbled suddenly, his eyes still closed, and Louis felt his face heat up.  
"I'm-I'm sorry..." Louis said, "I didn't know if you were awake. Are you okay?" Louis asked, nervous.  
"Define okay," Harry answered, "cause I have a huge headache, we have to fly to Italy, which will probably take a whole day, and I feel like I'm gonna throw up anytime soon this morning, so... I'm not exactly okay."  
"Oh..." Louis said, a bit disappointed.  
"But," Harry added, "I had fun last night. You're a cool guy, I'm sorry for being so rude when we met," he still had his eyes closed, and his cheeks were a light shade of red. "Maybe we could, uh... do it again sometime? Or like, right now... I could suck you if you want me to, I don't mind."

Louis wasn't even sure of what to say, but when he was about to speak, he was interrupted by his phone ringing on.  
"Shit, turn off that diabolic thing..." Harry said, covering his head with a pillow.  
Louis got up from the bed, and it took him a while to find the phone.  
"Hello?" he answered after clearing his throat.  
"Tomlinson, where the fuck are you? Where's Harry? You were supposed to be ready half an hour ago!" Louis' boss sounded more than angry on the other end of the line.  
Louis satarted to make weird gestures, trying to get Harry to get up, but the curly boy just stared at him, cause he was so weird, and he was also naked.  
"I'm so sorry, sir, Harry wasn't feeling very well and I was just waiting for him. Between me and you, it's a bit hard to work with him as he's always drunk or worse..."  
Harry lifted his eyebrows in a funny way, and threw a pillow at Louis, who tried to avoid it poorly.  
"I don't care if he's sick, I want the both of you here, right now, or you're out of this, Tomlinson. Your lugagge is already here."  
"Yes, sir, we'll be there in a minute. I'm so sorry." Louis said, and then his boss hung the phone up.  
"Is he mad?" Harry asked Louis.  
"He'll probably sack me, so... pretty mad, yeah" he answered while putting on his boxers, "come on, get up, we're in a hurry!"  
"But I don't want to!" Harry protested like a kid, "I wanna have sex!"  
Louis felt his cheeks go red.  
"Well, me too, but I also want to keep this job, so please, don't make this any harder. Pun intended."  
Harry showed him a dimpled smile, but obeyed Louis.  
"Shit, my clothes are already packed... I'm gonna freeze in the plane," Louis complained when he had put all his clothes on.  
"If you're trying to get me to cuddle you on the way to Italy... you're doing it right, to be honest" Harry said, trying to ease his curls a bit.  
Louis let out a soft laugh. "Do you really think we'll be able to sit together on the plane after this? I don't think so, I'll have to wait for you to suck me until tomorrow. I'm devastated, as you can probably tell."  
"What a shame, poor Louis" Harry faked a pout, "maybe if we explain it to your big bad boss, he'll understand our needs, don't you think?"  
"Ha ha, it's not funny, he'll send me home in a heartbeat. I'm not ready to go home yet..." Louis said, getting out of the room and heading towards the elevator, followed by Harry.  
"Where's home?" Harry asked.  
"Doncaster," Louis answered, proud.  
"Doncaster? So you have to know the guy a talked about yesterday, his name is Stan," Harry said, completely unaware.  
Louis felt a twinge in his heart.  
"I know him, yeah... very good goalkeeper," Louis said, staring at his feet.  
"Well, I don't know about that, I couldn't care less about football. He had a nice butt, tho."  
"Harry," Louis interrupted him, "please, just shut up, okay, my boss is gonna kill me, I'm not in the mood."  
"Okay, I'll behave" Harry said, but as soon as they entered the elevator, he was all over Louis again, feeling him up against the wall, kissing his neck.  
"Harry, please," Louis said, already feeling his trousers tighten around his dick.  
Harry let out a mischievous laugh, placing his hand inside Louis' pants. "Oh, are you sure you can wait till tomorrow?" the curly boy whispered in Louis' ear, strocking his dick.  
"Shit, I hate you. Fuck you..." the blue-eyed boy said hoarsely, holding in a loud moan.  
"You wish," Harry had turned into a human dimple, enjoying making Louis so weak.  
The elevator doors opened and Harry let go of him immediately, straightening his clothes a bit, and getting out of the lift with a confident strut, leaving Louis behind, sweaty and hard as a brick.


	5. I can't change.

"Tomlinson! Louis' boss was outraged when he saw him, "is this a game to you? We have a tight schedule, you can't just show up whenever you want. Same with you, Styles./  
"It's my fault, sir," Harry said, "Mr. Tomlinson insisted on being here in time but I was a bit tired from yesterday's photoshoot, which turned out perfectly fine due to our photographer's skills, truth be told."  
"I don't want your excuses, but you better buckle down to this or I'll talk to your sister, I'm sick of doing favors to people who just keep sending spoiled and cocky children," the fat man said, and then he left, still mumbling things to himself.  
"Wait," Harry said to Louis, frowning a bit, "should I be offended by what he just said?"  
"Not really," the shorter boy answered, "he's just stressed, I guess. Thank you for what you said, by the way. About my pictures being good and all."  
"You're welcome, love" Harry smirked, giving Louis a soft pat in his butt, "you can thank me later."

"I can't believe you're here!" Eleanor jumped on Louis when she saw him getting on the plane.  
"Me neither," he hugged the maybe-too-enthusiastic air hostess, "I wasn't expecting you'd be in this plane too."  
"Ah, you know, when you have a job like mine you are constantly changing your location. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll be flying to China. Exciting, innit?" she said, sarcastic.  
"It is!" Louis laughed, "you're damn lucky, seriously. And, " he added, "we wouldn't be able to see each other again if it wasn't because of your job."  
"Yes, you're right," she said, smiling again, "you're by far the coolest passenger I've ever met. If you need anything, just tell me, okay?"  
"Sure thing, sweetheart," Louis smiled and headed towards his seat.  
In a matter of seconds, Harry was sitting next to him.  
"Are you sure that's your seat, sir?" Louis teased.  
"Who was that?" Harry asked, ignoring Louis' game.  
"Who?" asked Louis, a bit confused.  
"The air hostess," the curly boy said.  
"Oh, I met her when I came here from home, she was really nice."  
"Have you fucked her?" Harry asked, getting closer.  
Louis lifted his eyebrows.  
"Well, how do I say this... uh..." Louis lowered his voice," in case that your dick in my mouth last night wasn't obvious enough, I'm gay, Harry."  
"Hm." Harry got comfortable on his seat, arms crossed.  
"Wait, are you jealous?" Louis asked, more than pleased.  
"Should I?" Harry wondered, "I mean, I just want you to tell me if you're going to get into other people's pants. I'm not looking for commitment or anything, it's just that, shit, I like you and I don't wanna share you, okay? I'm that selfish."  
"Fuck, you're the cutest thing I've ever seen" Louis said with amusement, making Harry blush.  
"Shut it, I'm not. I'm a tough guy."  
"Yes, right, and I'm successful in my relationships" Louis let out a short laugh.  
"You should be. I'd date you, you know, if I did that dating thing." Harry confessed.  
"If you did that dating thing," Louis repeated, nodding.  
"Yeah, I don't think I'm good with that kind of stuff. I've never been in love,"  
"Never?" Louis interrupted him.  
"Nope, never" the curly boy answered.  
"Wow... well, I've been in love. It's a very nice feeling, but only when it's not tearing you apart."  
"You haven't told me about that. About you being in love. How was it?" Harry asked.  
"Uh, well..." Louis swallowed through the lump on his throat, "I don't really feel like talking about that, it's... complicated. A bit hard to explain."  
"Okay, okay, I understand. But you can like, get it off your chest with me, you know?"  
Louis looked at Harry and he felt awful for lying to him. Harry turned out being such a nice boy, and Louis was not being true to him.  
"Thank you," that's all he could say, and leant in to leave a chaste kiss on Harry's lips.  
The curly boy showed him a sweet smile, left dimple showing when Eleanor came, clearing her throat to get noticed.  
"Uhm, I'm so sorry to interrupt, Mr. Louis, but a man in the front row who I presume is your boss told me to make sure you and your friend were not sitting together?"  
"What the fuck?" Harry claimed, getting up, "what is this? High school?"  
"Harry," Louis squeezed his hand, "it's alright, I'll come to see you in a while, okay?"  
Harry's brows were furrowed in a gesture that was more than cute to Louis. He said nothing, but squeezed his hand back and left to his seat, next to Lou and her daughter, Lux.

 

It had been four hours of flight, and Louis was sound asleep, all curled up on his seat, when Harry sat next to him again.  
"Hey, Louis," he whispered, "Lou, wake up."  
"Have we arrived yet?" Louis murmured taking the sleeping mask off of his eyes. Harry smiled.  
"No, we still have a long way to go. I've been waiting for you..."  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was so tired I fell asleep..." Louis said, gently squeezing his knee.  
"It's okay" Harry said, slipping his hand under the blanket that was covering Louis. The blue-eyed boy smiled at that and glanced at Harry.

"What are you doing?" he asked.  
"I told you this morning, I'm thanking you for the drunk and clumsy blowjob," he answered sneaking into his pants and grabbing Louis' dick.  
"It was perfect," he protested, and he felt his breath shake with the touch of Harry's hand. "Here? Harry, I don't..."  
"Shhh," the boy interrupted him, "lights are low and everyone is asleep. You just have to promise me you'll be quiet, okay?"  
"Okay," Louis nodded, his voice weak as he felt his dick hard under Harry's hand.  
The blanket began to move up and down with Harry's hand, slow and smooth, and Louis closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat.   
Louis held in a groan of pleasure biting his lip as Harry's hand moved up and down his length, and the curly boy left a steamy kiss on his neck.  
"Good boy," he whispered in his ear, "so obedient and hard."  
Louis couldn't help letting out a whimper, and Harry covered his mouth with his free hand.  
"Shh, you're doing it so well," he said, caressing his sweaty hair, fastening the movement of his hand on Louis' dick, "I'm so glad that you're here, this would suck without you."  
Harry's words made Louis' heart jump, and he came all over his pants, covering his mouth with his hand to silence a loud moan. Harry smiled satisfied and kissed Louis' cheek, and then his lips.  
"I'll be patiently waiting for my turn," he said, while Louis tried to recover, still shivering.   
"Next time I'll do whatever you want, I swear to God," he whispered, hiding his face in Harry's neck and leaving some wet kisses there.   
Harry took Louis' hand and was about to put it in his crotch, but he suddenly stopped when he heard footsteps getting closer.   
Louis put his sleeping mask on immediately, covering the both of them with the blanket and pretending to be asleep and Harry did the same.  
Whoever it was, stopped in front of them for a minute, but finally left, believing their little performance.  
Louis didn't dare to take the mask off, and Harry decided that he would take this opportunity of being around Louis. Also, he hadn't let go of his hand when they both fell asleep.


	6. Jealous lovers undercover on the street.

Little Lux came to wake Harry up when they arrived in Rome.  
"Uncle Harry, we've arrived, let's go get some pizza cause my teddy bear is hungry!" she said, tugging at Harry's shirt.  
"Oh, hi, princess," he kissed her cheek. "Why don't you go with your mom and I'll be there in a minute, deal?"  
"Deal," the girl nodded, then she noticed Louis, still asleep, "is he your boyfriend?" She covered her mouth with her hand to silence a giggle.  
"What? No, why do you think that?" he frowned.  
"Cause you're holding hands, that's what mommy and daddy do," she explained.  
Harry looked at their hands, "oh, this?", he asked, "uh... he's a bit scared of planes, you know? So I was just trying to make him feel better, that's all," he tried.  
"Oh, so you love him. Cause mommy says that when you love someone you take care of them."  
"Wow, I really hate your mother right now," Harry whispered to himself, "uh, princess, just go ahead for that pizza and I'll go in a bit."  
"Okay, but I want Louis to come too," she said.  
"Sure, your highness. As you wish."

When Lux finally left, Harry stared at Louis for a good two minutes. His eyes were still covered with the sleeping mask, his hair all shaggy and messy from the nap and something else.  
"You're staring at me. Creepy," Louis said suddenly, and that made Harry blush.  
"I am not!" he defended himself, "I was just making sure that you get enough rest cause I care about..." suddenly he stopped, "wait, you were listening to my conversation with Lux?" Harry sounded horrified.  
"Maybe?" Louis laughed, "it's okay, she's just a little girl. She believes in fairy tales and all that fantasy."  
"You're gonna pay for that, you know it, right?" Harry teased.  
"Yeah, I figured," Louis laughed. "But I hope it's not during dinner, I don't want Lux to be traumatized for the rest of her life just because uncle Harry can't keep his hands off of me," he winked.  
"Oh, don't be so full of yourself," Harry said, a smile showing as they got out of the plane.  
"I'm just saying the truth, honey," he stuck his tongue out at the curly boy.  
"So this is sassy Louis, then?"  
"Oh, you have seen nothing about sassy Louis," he answered, lifting an eyebrow, and Harry smiled with amusement.  
"Mr. Louis!" Louis overheard Eleanor's voice calling him from behind them.  
"I'm terribly sorry, we're in a hurry," Harry answered before Louis could speak, and the shorter boy elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" Harry protested.  
"Yes, love?" Louis approached the air hostess.  
"Yes, love?" Harry mimicked him and Louis gave him a scolding look.  
"Mr. Louis, I'm so sorry to interrupt you, I just feel like I needed to say goodbye, cause I think you're really awesome and... I just got a call from Abercrombie, they want me! As a model!" the girl jumped out of excitement.  
"That's amazing, El!" Louis hugged her tight, "so you won't be an air hostess anymore?"  
"Nope, I'll go back to England and I don't plan on leaving in a while! So, in case we never meet again, here's my number," she handed him a piece of paper with her number written on it, "if you ever want to have a chat, a cup of tea, whatever, just give me a call," she smiled.  
"I definitely will, love," he hugged her again, "it was very nice to meet you."  
"You too, I hope you have fun in Rome, by the way!" She said, "I gotta go now, but I hope to see you soon."  
"Alright, goodbye, El," Louis blew her a kiss.  
"Goodbye, Mr. Louis."

When Louis went back to Harry, the curly boy had his arms folded and he was patting his foot on the floor.  
"I'm gonna burn that paper," he said, trying to hold back a smile.  
Louis let out a loud laugh.  
"Oh, shut up," Louis smiled wide, and Harry hugged him casually by his shoulders.  
"You better get ready for tonight, tho," the curly boy warned him, "as soon as dinner is over I'm gonna take you to the hotel and I'll rip your clothes off."  
Louis tried not to blush, in vain.  
"Sounds good. We could even skip dinner, maybe?"  
"Ah, I don't think so. I promised Lux I would go. That we would go. She will go nuts if I break the promise; she's even crazier than her mother."

__________

 

"For the love of God, make her stop," Harry begged Lou, while Lux wouldn't stop throwing pizza crusts at him.  
Louis was laughing so hard cause Harry was so cute and patient and his hair was full of bread crumbs.  
"It's not my fault," Lou excused herself, "you just called her teddy bear fat."  
"Cause it is!" Harry protested, "look at his belly, he looks like Louis' boss!" When he said that, Lux threw the biggest crust at him, hitting him right in the eye.  
"Ow! Oh Jesus, I'm blind! I'm blind!" He fake cried and that made Lux laugh.  
"Oh, you devilish child..." he said, with a smile on his face.  
"It's late, my angel," Lou said to Lux, "let's go to sleep so you can torture uncle Harry all you want tomorrow, okay?"  
The little girl nodded and left a sweet kiss on Harry's cheek, then did the same with Louis and held tight to her mom's hand.  
"Behave," Lou warned the two boys, and then they left.  
Harry shook his head, trying to get the crumbs out of his hair.  
"Stop, I'll do it," Louis said, and he ran his fingers through Harry's hair, cleaning it.  
"Thank you," he smiled, "do you want dessert? I'm craving some chocolate, to be honest," Harry said, checking the menu.  
"Seriously? You just ate two pizzas, Harry," Louis laughed.  
"What, am I chubby?" Harry asked, lifting his shirt to check out his toned abs.  
Louis gasped.  
"Nope, you can eat all the chocolate you want," he confirmed.  
Harry smiled and ordered a triple chocolate portion of cake to the waiter.  
"So," Louis began, "tomorrow's gonna be a hard day. We have to wake up really early, I don't want my boss to yell at me again."  
"Oh, I would defend you," Harry promised.  
"And I appreciate it, but it's not about that. He said it yesterday, he's doing me a favor by allowing me to do this," he said, stealing a piece of cake.  
"That's ridiculous, you're so good at this, they should be fighting to have you for their campaigns," the curly boy said while shoving a big piece of cake in his mouth.  
"Yeah, you're the only one who thinks that. Well, you and my professor. He was the one who got me the job."  
"Oh, so you were the teacher's favorite?" Harry asked in a mischievous tone, "did you stick around after classes to learn more?"  
"Ew, shut up, that's horrendous," Louis made a disgusted face and threw a piece of cake at Harry.  
"Hey!" Harry laughed and threw another one to Louis, "I just had to make sure you deserved the job."  
"Of course I do," Louis laughed, throwing a crumb of cake at him again.  
Harry was about to throw a bigger piece at him when they felt the waiter staring at them, not very happy.  
"I think we should leave..." Louis said getting up from his seat, trying so hard not to burst into laughter.  
"Yeah, you're making a scene, Louis," Hardy joked, "we should go before you get us in trouble," he said, leaving the money on the table.  
"Shut it," he said, pointing at him and holding back a laugh.

It was cold when they got out of the restaurant, so Harry offered to hug Louis as they walked, and Louis was more than content with it.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, but a street singer caught their eyes.  
It was only him and his guitar, baggy clothes, ginger hair and a beautiful voice.  
They stopped to hear him sing for a while, something that made Louis think.  
"And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck; I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet."  
Was he falling for Harry? That sounded more than scary.  
"Beautiful, mate," Harry told the ginger boy when he finished, "you're very talented," he gave him 50€, and the boy looked like he could kiss Harry for being so generous.  
"Wow, thank you so much, friend," he said, "I might write a song about you sometime, definitely."  
"I hope so," Harry laughed.  
Louis remained silent as they walked to the hotel.  
"Is everything alright?" Harry asked when they arrived, "you know you can tell me."  
"Yeah, everything's good," Louis said. Technically, it wasn't a lie.  
"Good, cause I really wanna have sex with you right now, and it would suck if you were not in the mood," he bit his lip trying to hide a smile.  
"Oh, you're such an asshole, I can't believe you," Louis shook his head, amused.  
"Yeah, but you like me so who cares, really," Harry shrugged.

When they got to Harry's room, the curly boy let himself fall on the bed, arms open, and Louis laid on top of him, his body perfectly fitting with Harry's.  
"You have really long eyelashes," Harry noticed, "I like them."   
Louis smiled, "you have really pretty lips. I like them."  
The moment he said that, Harry kissed Louis' lips deeply, running his fingers through his hair. Louis hummed with the kiss, slipping his hands under Harry's shirt, feeling his warm skin with his cold fingertips.   
"You have really soft hair," Harry said, already breathless, "I like it."  
"You have really big hands," Louis responded, "I love it," he said with a cheeky smile, now kissing Harry's neck.  
He only let go to take his shirt off, and Harry did the same, eager.  
"And your tattoos," Louis said, "I really like your tattoos."  
"I like yours, too," Harry said, and he gasped when Louis softly bit his nipple.  
Louis unbuckled Harry's belt easily and did the same with his pants too, never stopping the kisses all over Harry's chest.  
"Got some lube, love?" Louis asked, kissing Harry's neck.  
The curly boy stretched his arm out to reach at the bedside table, handing Louis a half empty bottle of lube.  
Louis refused to think about Harry using it with other boys. About using it with Stan.  
"Condom?" Harry asked, his hard softly touching Louis' thigh.  
"No, I wanna feel you," Louis said, spreading some lube all over Harry's dick and on his entrance.  
Harry attacked Louis' lips again, hungry, digging his fingers on his back.  
Louis sat on Harry's dick slowly, letting only the tip of it inside of him first to get used to it; then he started to lower himself, biting his lip and making Harry moan.  
"Oh, baby, you're so tight," the curly boy whispered as Louis began to move up and down, "so perfect for me."  
Louis groaned in pleasure as Harry softly bit his neck, leaving red marks all over it.  
It didn't take long for Louis to reach his prostate, making him moan loudly, eyes closed and head laid back.  
"Harry, you're so big," he managed to say between groans.  
Harry's hands were all over Louis' butt cheeks, "So perfect," Harry said, "nice little ass, so perfect."  
"Harry, I'm-" Louis got interrupted by his own moans, the rhythm of the thrusts smooth but deep.  
"Me too," he answered, "fuck, Lou, I'm gonna come. You want me to come inside you?" He breathed against Louis' neck.  
"Yes," Louis cried, "yes, do it, come for me, baby."  
Just like when Louis gave him the blow job, the sensuality in his words were enough to make Harry come, and just like if they were synchronized, Louis did too, moaning loudly and screaming his name.  
They stood like that for a few seconds, all shaky and sweaty and pleased.  
"You feel so good..." Harry said, and Louis left a clumsy kiss on his lips.  
They both fell on their backs, trying to steady their breathing.  
"Will you stay?" Harry asked after a few minutes with just silence filling the room.  
"As long as you want me to," Louis answered, softly.  
"Good..." Harry said, covering the both of them with the thick blanket.  
Before Louis could open his mouth to speak again, his stomach did the honors, giving an audible grumble.  
Harry laughed this time, a full on out loud wave of laughter that almost brought tears to his eyes. "Hungry, aren't we?"  
Glaring at him, Louis smacked his hand across his bare chest, "shush your mouth, not all of us eat two pizzas and chocolate cake right before bed."  
Shrugging, he crossed his arms behind his head, "I'm a growing boy."  
"A growing boy," Louis repeated, amused. "You eat like a cow, Styles."  
"That's bloody offensive, Louis," Harry faked being hurt by what he said.  
"You're right, I'm sorry," Louis smiled. "Do you want some cuddles to fall asleep?"  
Harry glared at him and nodded, "yeah, I do. I always do."


	7. Kind of.

Louis was already awake when the alarm of his phone went off. He stopped it immediately, not wanting to wake Harry up yet. He allowed himself a few minutes to admire the curly boy's features, trying to memorize every detail, every little thing. It wasn't enough for Louis. He needed to immortalize that face, that body, forever.  
He slowly got up and took his camera from the bedside table. He focused the lens on Harry; on his face, his slightly parted lips, his eyelashes, his hair.  
He stood on top of the bed, trying not to move too much, taking more and more pictures of Harry, and he realized he could be doing that forever. Harry was simply perfect to him.  
Louis was so focused on capturing every single beautiful flaw, that he was caught by surprise when Harry wrapped a hand around his ankle, making him fall on his back next to him.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Harry asked him, kissing his cheek with a huge smile on his face and sleepy voice.  
"Uhm... just taking a few pictures. For myself, you know. Like the landscape ones in Brazil; I'll sell these too," Louis joked, blushing for being caught.  
"Hmmm... you'll have to pay me for image rights, you know?" Harry said, cuddling Louis while he checked the pictures on his camera.  
"I'll pay you whatever you want, I'll be filthy rich when I sell these," Louis answered, "I can already feel the money growing in my wallet."  
"Oh, how nice, Louis. Using me for a few millions of dollars."  
"Nah, I wouldn't do that," he glared at him, "I'd rather keep them for myself. You know, when all this is over and I go back to Doncaster and you go back to nowhere in particular, I want to remember this. You." Louis confessed, blushing.  
"I...," Harry started, but then stopped talking.  
"You...?" Louis insisted.  
"I...," he tried again, "I don't think I want this to be over. Like, we're adults, aren't we? You- you can stay with me, or at least close to me, you know. I could go back to England even, spend some time with my mom... This doesn't have to end. At least not now," he said, his hand trailing across Louis' bare skin. "Cause in this time, I know it's been just a few days, but I just, ugh..." he looked frustrated, cause he was struggling with the correct words to say.  
"Hey," Louis said, putting a hand on his cheek, "I know, okay? Don't... don't try to rush things. I think it's a good idea, I'll stay around. I know what you want to say, it's okay."  
"No, it's not," Harry sighed, "Louis, you... you're the first guy that's ever spent his time with me because he truly likes me, not because I have money or because I am famous. And I didn't know I could ever feel this way, like I just wanna have you near me the whole time, I'm not... complete when you're not around, you laugh at my horrible jokes and you're so caring and kind and you smell so, so nice. You're funny and a lot smarter than me and I love that. I just like you but not in the way I like other people. It's different, it's... deeper."  
"Harry..." Louis' voice came out like a whisper, a few tears wetting his cheeks, "wow, I... I don't know what to say," he took a deep breath.  
"It's okay," Harry repeated Louis' previous words, "I know what you want to say."  
Louis smiled and Harry did too, staring at each other like there was nothing else around them. Then Harry leaned in to kiss Louis' lips, and the blue-eyed boy held him tight, tugging at his hair.  
The kiss soon became steamy and passionate, and Louis' alarm went off again, making Harry grumble.  
"We have to work..." Louis whispered in his lips.  
"Please, let's just stay... I don't wanna go, I don't even like being a model," Harry protested, kissing Louis' chin.  
Louis smiled, "liar, you love it."  
"Yeah, true," Harry smiled too. "I love you more, tho."  
"You what? Sorry, I didn't hear you..." Louis lied, amused.  
"I said that I love you more than modeling," Harry's smile was bright like the sun.  
"Oh, you love me?" Louis kissed his nose.  
"Yeah, kind of," Harry answered.  
"Kind of..." Louis repeated, "I kind of love you, too."  
"Cute," Harry smiled. "Okay, let's go to work, I don't wanna get you in trouble," he pecked his lips and got up from the bed, straight to the shower.  
Louis covered his face with a pillow, a huge smile on his face like a teenager on his first date, butterflies coming back to his stomach after all this time.  
"Hey, Lou?" Harry called from the shower.  
"Yeah?" Louis answered getting up from his position.  
"Come shower with me," Louis could hear the smile in Harry's voice.  
He went to the bathroom still naked from the night before, and entered the shower without saying a word.  
"Oh, what a time to be alive, don't you think?" Harry said grinning, while washing his chest with a shower gel that smelled like vanilla and cinnamon.  
"Am I the reason you're so chipper this morning?" Louis asked, stealing a kiss from Harry's lips.  
"Kind of," the curly boy answered, making Louis laugh.  
"Can you wash my back for me?" Louis asked, turning around.  
Harry bit his lip at the sight of Louis' ass, and spread some gel on his hands, massaging the boy's back.  
Louis let out a soft groan, feeling his muscles relax at Harry's touch. The curly boy trailed his hands down to the bottom of Louis' back, and then cupped his butt cheeks with them.  
Louis groaned again, "babe... don't start what you can't finish..."  
Harry smiled and left a soft bite on Louis' shoulder.  
"I'm not sorry, honestly," he said, kissing the back of his neck.  
Louis turned around and kissed Harry fiercely, pushing him against the wall of the shower.  
"Don't you ever do that again when we have to do stuff or I swear to God, you'll never get out of this room," Louis said after biting Harry's lip, and the curly boy was already hard.  
"You're so mean..."Harry faked a pout.  
"Oh, no, you are the mean one. But it's okay, I forgive you cause I'm such a nice guy," he kissed Harry's forehead standing on his tip toes, and then got out of the shower, going back to the room wrapped in a towel.  
"Are you seriously gonna leave me like this?" Harry asked still in the shower, pointing at his hard dick.  
"Life is hard," Louis said, getting dressed, "pun intended," he laughed at his own joke.  
"You're not funny at all," Harry said, cheeks flushed.  
"Just like you, we have a lot in common!" Louis laughed, buttoning up his shirt and taking his camera. "I'll wait for you downstairs, love you!" Louis said, and he left before Harry could even reply.

___________________

"Harry, I'm serious, stop it," Louis said for the tenth time that day, trying to get Harry's hands off of him while they were doing the photoshoot.  
"It's all your fault, why are you wearing such a tight shirt? I'm turned on just by looking at you," he mumbled against his neck, "you should take it off."  
Louis laughed with that and pushed him away gently.  
"Come on, love, just a few more, okay? You're doing so well, just a few more."  
Harry sighed and went back to his position. The outfits for this photoshoot were a lot more elegant than the previous ones, and Harry looked like a lord or something like that.  
Louis kept taking pictures of him, stealing kisses every once in a while.  
Then he decided it was time for a break, and Harry almost dragged him to the now empty trailer.  
"You're hot as fuck," Harry said, kissing Louis' neck, "acting so professional and all, I wanna fuck you hard right now."  
"What are you waiting for, then?" Louis whispered, eyes closed with Harry's wet kisses.  
Harry unbuckled his belt and let his pants fall to his ankles, and then he did the same with Louis'. He lifted Louis' body, making him wrap his legs around his waist and he groaned at the touch of his tip with Louis' entrance.  
Then Harry sat on the couch, and with that movement he entered in Louis' hole, making the boy almost cry in pleasure.  
Louis began to ride Harry, slow and deep, and Harry let his head fall back, closing his eyes. Louis started to kiss his neck, biting the soft skin, leaving red spots on it.  
"Do you like it like this?" Louis asked against his lover's skin.  
"Yeah, I like it so much. You're," he stopped to breathe, "perfect."  
Then Louis increased the rhythm, and Harry screamed his name hugging him tight, already feeling like he could explode any minute.  
"Fuck, you're so good," Louis whispered, and with a few more thrusts he felt Harry release his everything inside him. He kept going a bit more, prolonging Harry's orgasm and reaching it himself too, his body involuntarily shaking.  
"Oh, babe..." Harry breathed against Louis' neck, "you're the best at this."  
Louis kissed his lips fondly, caressing his cheeks while they both recovered from the moment they'd just shared.

_________________

Photoshoot was over after a few hours, and Louis and Harry went back to the hotel, looking forward to more sex and cuddles and nice words.  
"Do you want to go out? Fancy dinner, maybe?" Harry asked.  
"I would love to," Louis smiled, kissing his nose standing on his tip toes.  
"Alright, I'll go upstairs to put on my own clothes and I'll be with you in a sec," Harry promised, and he kissed Louis goodbye before entering the elevator.  
Louis sat on one of the couches of the reception, and his phone started ringing.  
When he saw the number on the screen, he felt his stomach twitch.  
He wasn't sure if he should answer, but he needed to know what he wanted.  
"Hello?" he answered, trying to sound calm.  
"Louis? It's me."  
"Stan, uh... hi" Louis started biting his nails.  
"I honestly can't believe what you're doing. Are you doing this on purpose? You want to hurt me?" The man asked.  
"What? What are you talking about?" Louis was confused.  
"Harry, Louis. I'm talking about Harry. I saw the pictures."  
"What pictures?" Louis was starting to tremble, "what the fuck is going on?"  
"'Famous model Harry Styles and new boyfriend together for charity"' Stan said, probably reading it from somewhere.  
"I- I don't understand... why do you say that? Who said that?" Louis felt like he could start crying.  
"It's on every magazine right now, Louis. How can you be fucking him? I never imagined you were like that, honestly, after what he did to us..."  
That made Louis explode in tears held for too long and contained rage.  
"What he did to us, Stan? Seriously? You did it! You destroyed everything, it's all your fault! And I'm not fucking him, it's not like that, I'm not like you! He's good and he cares about me and he has given more to me in a few days than what you gave to me in years!"  
"He has no idea, does he?" Stan asked. "He doesn't know that you were my boyfriend when we had sex."  
"That's none of your business," Louis answered, running his fingers through his hair.  
"Oh, this is gonna be good," Stan was enjoying it, "he will dump you when he knows, cause hes gonna know the truth sooner or later, Louis."  
"Is that a threat?" Louis' legs went weak and he had to sit.  
"No, it's a warning. Tell him. Or I will," Stan said, right before hanging up the phone.  
Louis covered his mouth with his hand to silence a sob.  
When Harry came back, his always present smile faded when he saw Louis with his face hidden in his hands.  
"Babe? Is anything wrong?" he asked, kneeling in front of him.  
"Yes, Harry. I... I need to talk to you about something."  



	8. About trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, I'm so sorry that it took me more than usual to update! Loads of exams combined with lack of inspiration made it really hard for me to write, but here it is, finally :) Sorry again, hope you like it! xx.

When they got to their room, Louis was sweating.  
"Babe, come on, what's going on?" Harry asked, "you're making me nervous."  
"Just... just sit, please," Louis begged.  
"No," Harry refused, "no, I want you to tell me what's happening. Why are you so upset? Have I done something wrong?" Harry asked, more scared than he expected himself to be.  
"Have you...?" Louis snorted, "you've done nothing wrong, Harry, it's my fault, it's all my fault..." he said, pacing the floor.  
"Then tell me, for God's sake! What have you done? You know you can tell me," Harry said, tugging at Louis' shoulders.  
Louis took a deep breath, avoiding Harry's eyes. It made no sense to try to escape from this. He had to tell him.  
"Is there someone else?" Harry asked suddenly, voice weak, "is somebody waiting for you at home?"  
"No, no, it's not that..." Louis assured him, "fuck, how do I even say this... you remember the guy from the Doncaster Rovers you used to..." Louis swallowed, "hang out with?"  
Harry just nodded, impatient.  
"Well, he... I know him, too."  
"Oh... is that it?" Harry asked, completely oblivious, "shit, you scared me," he smiled, relaxed.  
"No, I mean... we were together when you had that thing with him. He cheated on me with you," he said that like a whisper, but Harry heard him perfectly.  
The curly boy's expression changed as if he'd just been slapped in the face for no reason.  
"What? Wait, he... so I..." he took a step back, looking at Louis with a horrified expression, "so that's why you're doing this!" He claimed, "you're with me to make him jealous!"  
"No, love, it's not that, I swear-"  
"Yes it is!" Harry was struggling with his breathing and his face was pale, "you're with me to show him that you can have me too!"  
Louis' body was shaking, and the tears were filling his eyes.  
"Harry, please, let me explain it to you..." he begged.  
"I don't need you to explain anything, Louis, I'm not stupid," Harry said, hurt. "Did you find out about me being your model when you saw me or did you know I was gonna be here before? I'll bet that's why you applied for the job in the first place," he was shaking his head, absolutely disappointed, "oh, wait, maybe it was because I'm famous, too. I mean, why not? That's why everybody is interested in me, why would it be different this time? You needed the money, didn't you? That way you killed two birds in one shot. You make Stan jealous and you make a fortune out of it. Very clever, actually."  
"How can you say that? Do you honestly think this means nothing to me?" Louis cried.   
"If it meant something, then you would've been open and honest about it since the moment we first met, don't you think? But thank you for telling me, tho. It would have been a lot more embarrassing if someone else found out before I did," Harry was holding his emotions in, like he had been doing for years and years, and he felt like his chest was on fire.  
Louis didn't know what to say, cause he felt like any word leaving his mouth wouldn't be enough to fix the mess he'd made.  
"I can't believe this, honestly. I actually trusted you. No one has ever fooled me like that," Harry said, his voice deep and dark now. Flirty and sweet Harry was somewhere far away from that hotel room.  
"I didn't fool you," Louis approached him, but Harry's expression was so cold now he didn't dare to get any closer, "and I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you about it in the first place. I never planned for this to happen. I hated you since the minute I saw you in that VIP room in Brazil, and I was so close to leaving, to going back home with my tail between my legs like a scared dog. But then I understood that what happened with Stan wasn't either mine or your fault, it was only his. And then I thought, "why deny myself the delight of getting to know someone new?" And then I made the decision to let you in."  
Harry wasn't looking at Louis while he spoke, but the boy knew he was listening, cause his breathing was slower now, not that anxious.  
"You can't deny that we connected since that first photoshoot, Harry. You felt that too. And I hated myself so much, cause you were all charm and laughter and I wasn't being a 100% honest with you, and I hated that. But you know what? It was very easy for me to forget about Stan, what you two had, what I was keeping from you, every time you would look at me. Every time you touched me. Even every time you talked. Cause it was something that made me feel happy, Harry. I haven't been happy in a long time... and now I am. You make me happy, for God's sake," Louis hid his face in his hands.  
"I still don't understand why you didn't tell me in the first place," Harry said.  
"Cause I didn't want you to think exactly what you're thinking right now. Guess I did a terrible job of it," Louis confessed.  
"Sure as hell you did," Harry responded.  
Louis bit his lip, the guilt making him feel like he was the worst person in the world, and he let out a sob that he tried to silence with his hand.  
"Hey, uh..." Harry said, "have some sleep, okay? You can have the bed."  
"And you?" Louis looked at him through the tears.  
"I'm gonna go, I need a drink. I'll see you later, I guess."  
"No, please," Louis got up from the bed, "please, stay with me."  
"I can't, Lou..." Harry said, staring at his feet, "not right now."  
Louis nodded, feeling his own heart twist in pain, "I love you."  
"Please, don't say that," Harry responded, and with the pain reflected in his face, he left the room.

Louis didn't have the strength to get undressed, so he just curled up himself in the bed, the pillows and the sheets, that smelled like Harry, now wet from the boy's tears.

 

 

He had somehow managed to fall asleep when his phone began to ring. It scared him to death, cause as his grandma used to say, "phones in the night only ring for bad news." When he reached out to take it, he discovered that he was still alone in the bed.  
"Hello?" He answered, his voice soar from crying.  
"Louis? Honey, it's Lou", the stylist sounded nervous.  
"Oh, hi. Uhm, is everything alright? Do you need anything?"  
"Actually, I'm a bit worried. I just got a call from a barman who works in a club near the hotel. He told me that Harry got into some sort of fight or something, and that he called me as I was the first contact on his list."  
It took Lou's first sentence for Louis to jump out of bed.  
"Oh Lord, where is he? Is he okay? Oh my God," he asked while putting his shoes on.  
"He's in the club I mentioned this morning, do you remember? Can you go pick him up? I can't leave Lux here alone," she asked.  
"Yes, yes, I'm on my way," he promised, taking the hotel room key and leaving the room.  
"Okay, sweetie, let me know when you get him, alright?"  
"Yeah, thanks for calling," he said, and then headed straight to the street, trying to focus on which way to go, his heart aching inside his chest at the thought of Harry being hurt in any way.

 

It didn't take him long to find the club, like there was an invisible rope dragging him towards Harry.  
He asked the security guard about him, and he took him to a private room where he found the boy, his boy, with his shirt covered in blood, and Louis sighed in relief when he discovered that it actually came from his nose.  
"What happened?" Louis demanded to know, taking Harry's hand to help him getting up from the chair.  
"Nothing, can we go back to the hotel, please?" He asked, dry.  
"Yes, I... I'm sorry" he apologized to the security guard, who just nodded in return.

The walk back to the hotel was awkwardly silent, but Harry never let go of Louis' hand.  
When they got to the room, Louis texted Lou, telling her that Harry was okay, about to get in bed.  
"Are you texting Stan?" Harry spoke for the first time since they left the club.  
"No, Harry, I don't text Stan, I actually hate Stan. I was just telling Lou that you're alright, she was worried."  
"You told her?" Harry asked, rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, only to make it bleed more.  
"She called me," he explained, going to the bathroom and coming back with some cotton and a water bottle. "Come here, sit on the bed."  
"I don't need your help, I can take care of myself-"  
"Harry," Louis said with scolding tone, "sit on the bed, please."  
It took the curly boy a few seconds to finally move, but he did as Louis told him.  
"Will you tell me what happened?" Louis asked him, placing himself between Harry's legs and pouring some water on a cotton ball to clean the blood on his face.  
"It's none of your business," Harry answered, like an angry child.  
"Yes it is. You are of my business. I want to know, why are you like this?" Louis said, trying to play it cool and not lose his nerves.  
"Someone said something about you. Are you happy now?" He finally said.  
"What? Who? Why?" Louis frowned.  
"Okay, enough with the questions, we're not playing Cluedo," Harry answered. "Apparently we're on the cover of every magazine now? They call you "my boyfriend" and well, there were just some guys talking about it. They saw me and one of them asked me some things about you that I'm not going to repeat because that will make me want to go back to the club and smash his head against a wall or something," Louis knew that it was the alcohol talking right then, cause Harry couldn't hurt a fly.  
When he finished cleaning his face, he put a bit of cotton inside his right nostril to stop the bleeding.  
"Well thank you, then. For stepping up for me."  
Harry shrugged, "anytime."  
Louis caressed Harry's cheek, and the boy closed his eyes at the touch, putting his own hand over Louis'.  
"I'm sorry that Stan cheated on you with me..." Harry suddenly said, his voice weak and his bottom lip trembling.  
"No, baby, it's... it's okay," Louis said, sitting on Harry's lap, and feeling whole again when the curly boy hugged him tight, "it's okay cause it's not your fault at all. And it's okay because if that had never happened, I would've never met you, and I would be still living the unhappy life I had with Stan."  
Harry hid his face in the crook of Louis' neck.  
"Do I make you happier, then?" Harry asked.  
"So, so much happier," Louis answered, smiling a bit.  
"Do I make love better than him?" The curly boy wondered again, making Louis smile wider.  
"So, so much better," he promised.  
"You know that I love you more than he did, right?" Harry asked, laying on his back with Louis curled up against him, sleep already getting to him.  
"Yes," Louis answered, and he felt safe and scared at the same time, "yes, I do."


	9. No rules.

It was 5 a.m. when Louis woke up. Just a couple hours of sleep had seemed enough for his body to recover, cause even though he tried to fall asleep again, it was in vain. He was shirtless, and so was Harry, the both of them too tired and lazy to get completely undressed and put on some comfier clothes.  
The curly boy was hugging him so tight, that in other situation Louis would probably try to move and get some air. But in that moment, all he wanted was to have Harry as close to him as possible. He thought about the fact that he almost lost him that night.  
He also understood that Harry really loved him. And it was such a scary feeling, because love brings so many beautiful things but it also brings tears and heart ache, at least as far as Louis has known. But it was worth it with Harry. Louis decided that he would go through a thousand nights like that one, for a couple hours of Harry hugging him that way, making him feel safe and loved and complete.  
He turned around to face Harry, to find the boy sound asleep like a big baby, his lips a bit pouted making Louis wanna kiss him.  
He took off the small ball of cotton of Harry's nose and got up carefully to throw it on the garbage bin from the bathroom.  
"Lou?" He heard Harry calling. He sounded worried.  
"Yeah?" Louis answered, coming back to the bed.  
"I thought you had left..." Harry said, like a scared child, "I woke up and you were not with me and I-I thought..."  
"It's okay, my love," Louis said, laying on the bed again and hugging him, caressing his curls, "I will never leave, I promise, okay?"  
"Okay," Harry nodded, "I won't leave either."  
"Alright," Louis whispered, kissing his hair.  
They stood like that for about half an hour, Louis holding Harry in his arms, the curly boy curled up against him like he was the comfiest pillow.  
"Lou?" Harry asked again.  
"Hmm" Louis answered, eyes closed.  
"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"  
Louis opened his eyes, just to make sure that he was not dreaming.  
"I... yes. Yes, I'd love to. Do you want to be my boyfriend?" He asked.  
"I think so, yeah," Harry answered, looking up at him, "I don't know, I just... it's like we're dating already, isn't it? We're together all the time and we're in love, aren't we?" Louis nodded, "so, I was just thinking, like, why don't make it official? That I am yours and you are mine and we love each other."  
Louis wasn't even trying to hide a smile.  
"I think you're right," he answered, kissing his forehead, "it would make me very happy if you were my boyfriend."  
"But I've never had a boyfriend," Harry said, "I don't know the rules."  
Louis laughed a bit, kissing Harry's lips.  
"There's no rules, Harry. Just... give loads of kisses and don't give them to anyone else and that'll be enough for now."  
"Oh, I can do that," Harry said, smiling happy.  
"Why don't you start now?" Louis asked, a playful smile on his face.  
"Yes, I want to be a good boyfriend on my first day of boyfriendhood," Harry said, laying on top of Louis and covering his face with a million kisses, making the boy laugh.  
"Okay, okay, that's enough," Louis said between giggles.  
"No it's not," Harry responded, kissing his neck and tickling him on the sides.  
"Stop!" Louis was laughing so hard, "stop, I'm gonna pee in my pants!"  
"Ew, that's disgusting," Harry laughed, kissing Louis' lips.  
"Shut up," Louis mumbled, kissing Harry back.  
"Oh, hey," Harry said suddenly, "let's go on a date!"  
"Baby, it's," Louis checked the time on his phone, "it's 6 a.m! Let's just stay here, okay? Let me love you," Louis said with a sweet smile, kissing Harry's lips again.  
"Nope," Harry murmured on Louis' lips, "no, I want to go on a date right now. Come on, put some clothes on, babe."  
Harry got up from the bed and Louis observed him while he got dressed.  
"Lou!" Harry protested, "come on, we have no time to lose!"  
"But where are we going?" Louis asked getting up from the bed and looking for a clean shirt.  
"Well, uh... shit, being a boyfriend is so hard," Harry started pacing the floor, "okay, wait here, I'll be back in a minute," he softly pecked Louis' lips and left the room without saying anything else.  
"But..." Louis was beyond confused, but he felt a pinch of excitement on his stomach.  
He decided to take a quick shower, and when he was done, nicely dressed and clean, there was still no sight of Harry.  
He took his phone and dialed his number, only to find that Harry left it in the room. Louis started to worry, so he took the room key and went outside to wait for him.

He bumped into Harry when he got to the street. The boy was all messy and sweaty curls, as if he had been running.  
"Shit, Lou, you were supposed to wait in the room," he said, hands on his back.  
"You were taking too long and I was worried," Louis kissed him, "where were you?"  
"Well, I've seen a few romantic movies in my life, so, uh..." Harry explained, and then he showed Louis a bouquet of six fake roses and a box of chocolate.  
A smile appeared on Louis' face, and he jumped on Harry, hugging him tight.  
"This is beautiful, Harry... thank you," he said before kissing him, "where did you get all of this so early?"  
"A gas station," Harry laughed a bit, "I'm sorry that the flowers are fake, and the chocolate probably expired years ago, but it's all I could get-"  
Louis interrupted him with a passionate and loving kiss.  
"It's perfect," he whispered on his lips, "you are perfect and I love you very much."  
Harry smiled like an idiot, hugging Louis tight.  
"Am I being a good boyfriend?" he asked.  
"The best," Louis answered, "at least for now," he added, and Harry lifted an eyebrow, amused.  
"Come on, let me take you on that date."

"This sucks," Harry sighed, a bit sad, "first date with my first boyfriend and I take him to eat takeaway chinese food on a park bench. Glamorous."  
Louis laughed it off, kissing Harry's cheek.  
"I love it, actually. Just you and me, the sun raising, almost good food. It's the best date of my life."  
"You're lying, it's not..." Harry said, putting his paper plate aside and staring at his hands.  
"Hey," Louis said, doing the same with his food and sitting on Harry's lap, straddling him, "believe me, there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. And definitely no one else I'd rather be with. You're all I want," he kissed him slowly, Harry's big hands getting lost on Louis' back.  
"I love you," Harry mumbled in the kiss, sliding his hands under Louis' shirt, making him smile.  
"I love you too," Louis said back, kissing Harry's neck, already feeling the heat in his pants, "let's go back to the hotel."  
"Eager," Harry smiled, licking Louis' nose, "move, I know a place."  
Louis frowned, but he obviously followed Harry.  
He took him to a gardener hut.  
"Seriously, babe?" Louis asked, looking around the tiny space, "how did you even know about this?"  
"I saw it on my way to the gas station," he explained, unbuckling his jeans, "I had it all planned."  
"Not bad for a beginner," Louis smiled, "are you sure no one's gonna find us here?" He asked getting closer to him and letting Harry kiss his neck.  
"Shh, relax," Harry said, "no one's gonna find out."  
Louis took off his pants too, and between kisses and touches they ended up laying on the floor, Louis on top of Harry.  
"I want you to ride me," Harry said, his voice deep, "I like it when you do that."  
Louis nodded and took a deep breath before sitting on Harry's dick, and Harry let out a loud moan cause Louis was so tight and the friction felt so good.  
"Oh, baby..." Harry whispered, "you're always so good," he said, as the other boy went up and down Harry's length.  
"I love-" Louis was interrupted by his own moans, "I love you, Harry."  
"Thank you," Harry said, and he did it in such an honest and truthful way that Louis felt the tears in his eyes.  
Louis leaned down to kiss Harry, still riding him, and the curly boy welcomed his lips with love.  
"I love you," Louis repeated, "I love you."  
"I love you too," Harry said, biting Louis' neck, "my beautiful boyfriend."  
"Cheesy," Louis smiled, a moan escaping his lips as Harry hit his prostate.  
"You love it," Harry answered, hitting that spot again.  
"More than anything, yeah," Louis hid his face in the crook of Harry's neck.  
A few more thrusts were enough for the both of them to come, moaning loudly, foreheads touching.  
When they came out of the hut, all sweaty and sticky and messy and in love, Louis wished for the ground to open beneath him and swallow him, as a few curious were surrounding the zone.  
"Jesus Christ, this is more than embarrassing. Harry, if you love me, kill me right now," Louis said, closing his eyes and hiding his face behind Harry's arm.  
The curly boy, however, was all smiles.  
"He's my boyfriend!" He told them, "we just had sex in there, cause we are boyfriends."  
"Shut up!" Louis scolded him, but with a big smile on his face.  
"Why? I'm proud of what we did. It was my first time having sex in a relationship. I'm not a virgin anymore!" Harry shouted happily, and Louis felt like his heart could burst for seeing his boy so happy.


	10. This is NOT an update.

Hi lovelies, this is not an update, this is just to let you know that I won't be able to actually update until November 14 cause I have such a busy schedule and I don't have time to write. Hope you forgive me! But hey, a HUGE plot twist is coming, so... stay tuned! Loads of love ♡♡♡♡♡


	11. I'm a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay... a bit hard to write this chapter, brought back so many bad memories that made me re-write it at least ten times. This is what convinced me the most. I know it's not long but it's been a hard week and I felt like I owed this to you. I hope you understand and I hope you like it... thank you and I love you <3 I promise something better tomorrow!

-Harry, I swear to God... -Louis' laugh was like the most beautiful sound to the curly boy.  
He was all over his boyfriend, kissing his neck, tickling him, inside the van they used to go to the places for the photoshoots.  
-I am so sorry but I love you very much, your laugh is so fucking cute and you smell like Christmas even though it's August, so don't even think that I'm going to waste any oportunity that I get to kiss your precious skin as much as I want to -he answered with a cheeky smile.  
-You're so cheesy, -Louis pecked Harry's lips, -I love you.  
-So I'm doing good then? Am I being a good boyfriend? -Harry asked.  
-You're being a lovely one, yes. But stop worrying about that, okay? -he caressed his cheek, poking the boy's dimple.  
-Okay... -Harry smiled.  
-Let's go now, I wanna take some more pictures of you in those leather pants before the sun goes down. They're pretty... interesting -he smirked, getting up from the couch.  
-Oh, I'm more than fine with that, -Harry answered, following him outside, -I can take them off if you need me to, no problem. As you can see, I'm very professional -he joked, and when they were outside, he hugged Louis from his back, kissing his shoulder. Somehow, that didn't feel right for Louis.  
-Hey, love, uh... do you mind if we're not this touchy in public? I'm not very used to... the stares -he tried.  
Harry's face was expressionless for a couple of seconds, and then he just went "oh, alright". Louis regretted it instantly.

They finished the photoshoot -sooner than expected cause Harry was not in the mood to play along anymore- and Louis felt his heart cringe when Harry decided not no sit next to him in the van, but stay in the front letting Lux play with his hair.  
-I'll order a salad, I've gained some weight. Do you want anything? -Harrry asked him when they got to their room. He'd been quiet all the way since Louis told him not to act like that when there's strangers around, and the blue eyed boy was a complete mess.  
-I'm not very hungry right now, but thank you. Uh... should we talk about what happened? -he asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.  
-What happened? -Harry asked, not making eye contact with him, just playing with his phone.  
-You look a bit upset. I thought-  
-Upset? -Harry interrupted him. -I'm not upset. Do I look upset? -he asked, harsh.  
-Well, yeah, that's what I just said...  
-But think about it. Should I? Should I be upset? Should I be sad and angry because my boyfriend doesn't want me to touch him in public? -he asked, standing up.  
-Harry, it's not that... with Stan we couldn't go out in public for years because of his reputation. It's something new to me.  
-Seriously, Louis? Stan? Again? Will you bring him up every once in a while so I can never get over it?  
Louis felt like he'd just been hit by a bus.  
-I'm sorry? You need to get over it?  
-No, I mean, we both need to get over it -Harry responded.  
-But you understand how hard it's being for me, don't you? -Louis was silently praying for Harry's answer to be yes.  
-It doesn't look like it. You look more than fine.  
-You've got to be kidding me... -Louis sat at the end of the bed.  
-Why don't you just forget about Stan? Why does he still haunt you? Do you still like him?  
-For God's sake Harry... it's not that easy, okay? I don't know about the rest of the world, but I can't forget the person I've loved the most in my life, who also turned out to be the one that hurt me the most, in less than a year. It hurts every single day. And I try very hard to be happy for you. Cause it's not your fault either. But sometimes I feel like you don't understand... -Louis was crying out of frustration.  
-I'm done with this bullshit... -Harry mumbled.  
-What? -Louis asked, almost like a whisper.  
-I said... fuck.  
-What did you say? Are you breaking up with me? -Louis asked, now sobbing.  
-No. No, I'm... I think I'm just gonna go, I need a drink -he said, heading towards the door.  
-No! -Louis' voice came out louder than he expected. -Please, Harry, I'm begging you. Don't leave me here alone, please, not again -he dropped himself to his knees, feeling weaker than ever. -I can't deal with it, please don't go... not you -he held the neck of his shirt really tight, feeling as if it was strangling him.  
Harry stared at him completely confused.  
-But... Louis? Why...? Please, don't cry... -he kneeled in front of him, and he did not dare to touch him. -Shit, I always fuck up like this... I told you I'm not going anywhere and I am a man of his word. And I love you like crazy, you know that, don't you?  
Louis nodded, his face red and his cheeks all wet, still shaking.  
-But you hurt me... sometimes you say things that hurt me, and I try so hard not to show it cause I don't want this to be over, cause I am so deeply in love with you right now I don't think I would survive if you ever left. You make me strong, Harry -Louis explained, a bit breathless.  
Harry's smile warmed up Louis' heart.  
-Come here, baby... -Harry opened his arms and Louis let him cover his body with his embrace. He let Harry protect him.  
-I'm a mess... I'm sorry, the wounds are still open and I'm so stressed with the job and with making it right with you and it's just... too much, -Louis sighed.  
-No, baby, it's all my fault. I'm a jerk. Sometimes I forget that you went through hell when the Stan thing happened, and I just... I suck.  
-No, in fact you don't, you still owe me a blow job. You get it? Cause you just said you suck and it's obviously not dick. Man, anxiety attacks make me hilarious.  
A few seconds of silence were needed for Harry to process what had just happened, and then he burst out in the loudest laughter Louis had ever heard. Tears fell from Harry's eyes as he slapped his knee, and Louis took a moment to admire him.  
-Okay, I'm definitely giving you that blow job right now, you deserve it, you deserve the whole world.


	12. Night changes.

"You're beautiful, Lou," Harry whispered to his boyfriend's lips, his own dripping cum because of the blowjob he just gave him.  
Louis kissed his lips softly.  
"No, you are," he said with a smile and a completely relaxed expression.  
"I'm sorry for being an ass. I'm trying, I swear that I'm trying not to be like the old me anymore..."  
"You're doing awesome, Harry," he kissed the curly boy's forehead, then ran his fingers through his hair, "I fell in love with the new Harry, the one standing here in front of me right now. But if you ever were to go back to the old you... then I would be there to kick your butt and take you back to me. To where you belong."  
Harrý's fond smile lit up the whole room, and just like that, Louis felt a bit less broken.  
"Let's have a shower, I'm hungry and I know this really fancy restaurant, you'll love it," Harry said standing up and getting undressed, and Louis did the same. He followed him to the shower and smiled when he felt the hot water fall on his back. Harry hugged Louis, covering his body with his tattooed arms, making the boy feel protected and safe, just how he liked to feel. Just how he needed to feel.  
"Are you ever scared?" Harry asked Louis, after a few minutes of the older boy softly washing his curls.  
"Pretty much all the time, yeah," Louis answered with a sad smile. "Do you mean of anything in particular?"  
"Yeah... are you ever scared of what's going to happen when this ends? When we're done with this job... I know we agreed on moving to London, but..."  
"You don't want to anymore?" Louis asked, trying not to let his voice show his growing fear.  
"Are you crazy? Of course I do. It's just that we both come from very different worlds, right?"  
"I would disagree with you, but I get what you mean. So what?"  
"What if... what if your people don't like me?" Harry asked, staring at his big feet and Louis' small ones.  
"My people? Jesus, Harry, you make it sound like I come from an Italian mafia or something like that," Louis laughed a bit.  
"Lou, I'm serious... I don't want them to hate me just because... I did things," he said.  
"Baby, they won't. They love me, and as soon as they see how happy you make me, they won't care about a few scandals. Believe me."  
"Okay... I love you, Lou. Thank you for saving me," Harry said. He said it like a whisper, but Louis heard it as clear as if he'd just said it through a megaphone really close to his ear.  
Louis didn't feel like he should say "you're welcome" cause he didn't feel like he had done nothing at all, and he also didn't feel that words were needed, so he got closer to Harry wrapping his arms around his neck, kissing his lips with love and gratefulness and all the words that didn't dare to come to his mouth.

 

________________________

 

He felt, deep inside his soul, that something was wrong the moment he saw Gemma's name on the screen of his pone, while it buzzed unceasing in his hand.  
"Hello?" Harry answered, curiosity and anxiety all mixed up in his tone.  
"Who is it?" Louis asked in a whisper, a towel tied up to his hips while he combed his wet hair from the shower.  
"My sister," Harry mouthed back.  
"Harry? Harry, love, you need to come home," Gemma's voice sounded anxious in the worst way.  
"What? Why? Are you okay?" Harry felt a lump starting to grow in his throat, and also Louis' hand immediately holding his in anticipation.  
"It's mom, Harry... She's not okay... Just come, okay? Please," and that's when Gemma broke.  
"I-I will, I'm coming right now, I promise. Oh, God, uhm, I love you, both of you," Harry was literally shaking.  
"We love you too, Hazza," Gemma said, and Harry could hear the tears in her voice, before hanging up.

"What's wrong, babe?" Louis asked carefully.  
Harry stared at the blank screen of his pone before turning to face Louis.  
"I have to go... I-I'm sorry, Lou, I..." he started picking random clothes and putting them on with no order or sense.  
"I'm coming with you," Louis said without hesitating, already getting dressed.  
"No, you're not, I can't let you come" Harry answered, determined, while putting on his shoes.  
"Harry, I'm serious. If you leave, I leave. Will you tell me what's wrong? Please?" Louis held Harry's face between his palms.  
"I can take care of this on my own, and you need to stay here. They will send another model to finish the campaign. I'll see you in England, okay?"  
"No, I refuse." Louis answered firmly.  
Then Harry started crying like a baby.  
"It's my mom... she hasn't been doing well since I left and it's all my fault... she's not okay, Lou, she's not-" he was interrupted by his own sobs, Louis holding him tight against his body.  
"Shhh, okay, baby, it's okay... come on, let's go. Let me take care of it," he held Harry's hand really tight and took his pone. He had to call his boss.  
"Tomlinson," the man said as a greeting.  
"Hello, I'm just calling to let you know that neither me or Harry will be able to finish our work, at least for now. I've already sent the pictures we took here, but we won't go to the Caribbean for the next couple of days. Uh, personal reasons."  
"What? No way, Tomlinson, you are staying here. Don't you have priorities?"  
That question made Louis look at Harry, who was already looking at him, with sad, puffy eyes, expecting him to lead him to the right place.  
"Yeah, actually, I do," Louis answered. "I'm sorry."  
"If you leave now, don't you ever dare to come back!" he was angry now.  
"I won't. Thank you for this life changing oportunity, sir. I will always be grateful," Louis said, right before hanging up.

 

_______________________

 

"Try to sleep, love," Louis whispered to Harry, who was all curled up in his seat on the plane.  
"I can't... I don't wanna have a nightmare," the curly boy said, his face looking sad and tired, and Louis kept wondering how to make Harry's beautiful smile reappear.  
"Do you want to talk?" Louis stroke his cheek with his thumb.

"I don't know, uh... okay. Tell me something about your family, I like it when you tell me about them. You smile so big," Harry said, and an attempt of smile showed up on his face. Louis felt his heart warm up.  
"Alright, well... you know Lottie, right?" Louis started, and Harry nodded. "She is the oldest of my sisters but still she's very young, you know? So a couple months ago she came home one day with this ginger boy, apparently he played the drums in a band or something like that, and she said, "mom, Dan, Lou... I'm getting married!"  
Harry laughed a bit, biting his thumb nail absentmindedly.  
"So I was so shocked that I spit the spaghetti that we were eating all over my brother Ernest's head, as he was sitting on my lap. My mom almost fainted. She started yelling at Dan, telling him "do something, for God's sake!", and Dan, being new in this fatherhood thing, had absolutely no idea of what to do when your 15 year old stepdaughter comes home to tell you that she's running away with Mr. Trouble to get married. The guy left immediately, not that into my sister as he saw what her family was like, I guess, and Lottie started probably the worst tantrum ever."  
"Oh, God... and what did he do?" Harry asked, finally distracted from his bad thoughts.  
"He stood up, got closer to Lottie and gave her an extremely boring lecture about how much he loves her and all of us and how she needs to be smarter with boys and blah blah blah. It worked though, she broke up with the guy the next day, and a few hours later he had a different girlfriend, so... yeah."  
"And what happened with Ernest? You spit spaghetti on top of him," Harry asked.  
"Oh, he was more than content actually, he kept mashing the spaghettis with his little hands. I'm sure he still smells like tomato sauce."  
"That's disgustingly cute," Harry smiled, and Louis did too.  
"Feeling better?" he asked him.  
"Yeah... it's just that I'm scared, you know? And I can't call Gemma cause I'm such a coward..." Harry complained.  
"No, you're not. It's absolutely normal," Louis assured him, holding his hand, "will you tell me what happens to her?"  
Harry sighed, shaky. "She's always been strong, you know? But for the last five years it was like she just got tired of fighting... she was sad all the time, she lost a lot of weight, wanted to be alone... but with Robin we could handle it. Then I made the great decission of leaving. She could'n take it. She started to take medication, and that caused problems with her heart... then I started drinking and doing drugs, nothing hard, just weed and stuff like that... the paps cought me in a night out and she saw the pictures. It was like when the fucking Titanic hit the iceberg. She had a minor heart attack, but the last time I talked to Gemma she was doing well..." Louis wiped a tear from Harry's cheek. "She still loves me, you know? After all that I did, to her, to our family... she still loves me. I don't understand it."  
"I do," Louis said. "She's your mom. Moms love their children no matter what. Oh, baby..." he hugged Harry, letting the curly boy get it off his chest.  
"I love her so much, Lou... if anything happens to her, I...-" Harry cried.  
"Shhh... try to get some rest, love. I will be here when you wake up," Louis promised, as Harry closed his eyes, a few more tears falling from them.  
"Thank you for being here with me," Harry said in a whisper.  
"I love you," was Louis' answer, and the last words Harry heard before falling asleep.


	13. Given a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I'M STILL ALIVE YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING THIS WERE YOU.  
> So sorry for the delay, finals needed to be done (they went well, by the way), and then Christmas came and family and friends and FOOD and yeah, you know what I mean.  
> This is the last chapter. I felt like I could twist the story a bit more, but I just think that these two deserve a proper good ending, so here it goes.

“Harry. Harry, wake up. We're home”  
Louis' voice was gentle when they landed in London, his tone a mixure of the happiness that brings being back home again, but the doubt and the fear of not knowing what they're gonna find at the hospital.  
Harry opened his eyes and got up from his seat without saying a word, brows slightly furrowed, mind somewhere else.  
Louis followed him to take a taxi, and once they were inside, he felt Harry's hand searching his, trembling, unsure. He took it and held it tight.

 

Two weeks and uncountable tears later, Anne, Harry's mom, was finally home. It took her some time to recover, her heart was still weak and needed someone to be with her 24/7, but the moment she saw Harry's face in that hospital room, it looked as if she was born again.  
“I still can't thank you enough for what you've done for my boy, Louis,” she insisted for the thousandth time, while watching the blue eyed boy chop the veggetables for the salsa he was making.  
“You have nothing to thank me for,” he said, turning around to look at her, while she was resting on one of the kitchen chairs.  
Gemma was on her way from her flat with her boyfriend, and Robin was at the grocery store, trying to find the perfect wine for dinner.  
“I do. You know, when I woke up in the hospital, that very night... I think you were at the cafeteria with Gemma, Harry told me about what happened. How you two met. I was so... amazed by the way he spoke about you, how his eyes would light up a bit more everytime he said your name, every little thing would make him smile like I've never seen him smile, not since he was a kid, Louis. It's still a mistery to me how you were able to love him so dearly when he was so hard to handle and was a constant reminder of the nightmare you went through...”  
Louis sat across from her, folding his arms close to his chest.  
“It was... hard. But at the same time, it was the easiest thing I've ever done. We've been together for two months, and I feel like I've shared with him my whole life. Yes, it was complicated at the beginning, there were a lot of tears, I had no idea what I was doing, cause I was falling for him but at the same time I was scared to love again, you know? I survived what happened with my ex-boyfriend, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle it if Harry decided to break my heart... But then I started to know him, he opened his heart to me, and I could see it everyday, how he was trying so hard to be good for me, and suddenly one day I found myself sitting on a park bench with him, eating raw chinese food at 6am in the morning, and I remember thinking: “This is it. This is all I need.” Are you crying?” Louis asked, a soft smile on his face.  
“Oh, don't mind me, it's just that you love him so much, I'm a mother, I can tell... it makes me immensely happy, Louis,” Anne said, bottom lip trembling a bit.  
“Come here, give me a big hug,” Louis offered, hugging the woman in his arms, gentle but tight at the same time.  
“Why don't you go find him upstairs? I'll finnish here for you,” she suggested, caressing Louis' cheek like only a mother would do.  
Louis nodded and headed towards the stairs, but before that, he called her out again.  
“Anne?”  
“Yes?”  
“I won't break his heart.” Louis promised.  
She smiled bright, a smile Louis knew so well since it was the same as Harry's.  
“I know,” she answered.

 

 

“Babe, dinner's almost ready, come down-” Louis called Harry, only to find him on the floor of his childhood room, on his hands and knees, looking for something under the small bed.  
“If you're expecting me to top, I think I'm gonna pass, if you don't mind,” Louis joked, and Harry let out the most beautiful laughter Louis had heard in his entire life.  
“Actually,” Harry said, standing up, “I was looking for my old Trivial Pursuit. I bet you had no idea, but I used to be the best at it when I was a kid,” he said, a soft smile that didn't seem to leave his lips since they got to England.  
“Well, you can show me your skills later if you want to,” Louis suggested, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.  
“That sounded better than you intended it to, didn't it?” Harry laughed, his hands on Louis' waist.  
“Probably, yeah” Louis laughed too, giving Harry a soft kiss on his cherry lips.  
“Thank you so much, Lou. For being here for me.” Harry started.  
“Please, stop, you know you don't have to thank me for loving you-”  
“Wait, let me finish. I was so, so lost before I met you. You helped make a new Harry, and I will be grateful forever. All I can do is say that my arms were made for holding you, and that I will love you every single day, no matter what. I won't stop loving you, Louis.”  
Louis felt like his heart could burst in that very moment, his eyes watery and his smile big and his lips aching for Harry's. So he kissed him, soft and sweet, until both of them felt out of breath.  
“I won't stop loving you either. I can't, really, your mom will kill me if I do,” Louis joked, making Harry smile so big again.  
“Do you think she's really okay? I'm scared that she's saying so but just because she doesn't want us to worry, you know?” the curly boy asked, his forehead touching Louis'.  
“I think she knows what's best for you, and for Gemma, and that is to be honest with you both if she feels like she might need some extra help. Don't worry about that, love. With you around, I'm a 100% sure she'll be fine.”  
“Yeah... I like that you get along with her so well,” Harry confessed, a little sweet smile on his lips.  
“She's lovely. Now I get why you are like that too,” Louis said, kissing Harry again, a shorter kiss this time.  
“We better go downstairs or she won't be that lovely anymore, believe me,” Harry laughed, holding Louis' hand on their way to the kitchen.

 

It was 7:21am and Louis' back hurt like hell.  
They thought it was a romantic idea to share Harry's childhood bed, so they could be all cuddled up and holding each other and yeah.  
It was, though, until Harry decided to sprawl his arms and legs across the bed, too beautifully asleep for Louis to make him move, and now there he was, staring at the window sitting in Harry's old desk, camera in hand, snapping pictures of a sleeping Harry.

“Do you ever let go of that camera?” the curly boy murmured, soft smile on his lips and eyes still closed.  
“Not really. Don't move, you look precious in this light,” Louis said, taking a few more pictures.  
“Does this count as work? You'll have to pay me after, mister.”  
“No way, you're my own personal muse,” Louis smiled, getting back in bed, nuzzling against Harry's neck.  
“I'm so happy that you're here, Lou. This would suck without you. You make everything better,” Harry's voice was raspy and incredibly sexy.  
“Where would I be if not here with you? We belong together... that's how it was supposed to be since the beginning.”  
And in that moment, Louis thought: “This is it. This is all I need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who read this fic that came out of nowhere in my brain, and became this thing. Thank you for promoting it on twitter, for the kudos, the comments... I really do love you all.  
> You'll hear from me again! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
> P.S: Thank you to @aqueerwithabeard for her lovely comment right when I most needed it, and to my soulmate @louehandhisfedoraboy for just being there.

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @wrongsizesh0e  
> Tumblr: sometimesihavecurls


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